generic advice

Generic financial advice (GFA) will not duplicate specialist debt advice services says Otto Thoresen, author of the Thoresen Review of Generic Advice.

The cost of establishing the generic advice service should not be restricted to FSA regulated firms, AIFA says.

Financial services providers are calling for a link between how much they pay to fund the new generic advice service and the benefits for individual companies.

The financial services industry will have to shoulder half the £40m-£80m costs of the new generic advice service, according to the interim report of the Thoresen Review of Generic Financial Advice (GFA) published today.

The first Generic Financial Advice pilot, part of the Thoresen Review, has begun in the North West of England.

Personal accounts have made the need for good impartial advice more urgent, as the current system is not equipped to deal with the eight million estimated extra savers, claims Otto Thoresen.

The Thoresen Review needs to concentrate on five key areas for a national approach to generic advice, claims the Resolution Foundation.

The potential risk of mis-selling personal accounts, particularly to women over the age of 45, has been dismissed by the government.

The Chartered Insurance Institute is calling on the government to implement some form of generic adviser evaluation framework to protect the public when unregulated advice is introduced.

Over 90% of IFAs believe pensions, including personal accounts, cannot be distributed in the workplace safely if generic advice is the only available option.