'Restricted means nothing': Industry reacts to Hargreaves advice shift

Hargreaves announced on 1 October it was giving up the indepenent status of its advisers so it could focus on developing simpler solutions, such as telephone-based advice. Being able to call advice independent comes with an onerous regulatory obligation to keep up-to-date on the whole of the investment market, including investments that clients rarely hold. Some of these investments are overly complicated and risky and cutting them out will allow Hargreaves to improve the advisory services it offers, simplify its fee tariff and remove the minimum portfolio size for advice, it said. ...