Indemnity commission for investment products will effectively be banned on introduction of the RDR (although protection and corporate products currently remain out of scope).
Essentially, under the proposals any initial commission will have to be agreed by the customer, to be deducted from the customer’s investment unless they wish to pay a fee. The provider will no longer be able to fund any form of remuneration.
This has an impact on the regular premium market, but as corporate and protection come into scope, this will have a fundamental impact on our market.
I have FPC 1, 2, 3, G10 and G60. What else would I have to get?
I agree, this is a very confusing subject and particularly frustrating because the debate has not reached sufficient level of granularity to discuss specific curriculum options.
You can look at an illustration that sets out the potential routes to be 2012 compliant. It's not yet 100% clear what the CPD requirement is, and even less clear how the work-based assessment will operate.
I realise this is not the straightforward simple answer you may have expected but I will try and keep you updated as more details emerge.
...qualification requirements at the old QCA Level 4?
The current FSA working group and Financial Services Skills Council has been set the task to resolve the situation, but I fear it may be several months before the clarity emerges.
In the meantime you can refer to our illustration that sets out the potential routes to be 2012 compliant.
...to take the exams that appear to be required by the end of 2012?
At present, the RDR covers only investment business, and the proposals are only relevant to investment advice. However, we believe that the scope of the review will extend into group pensions and the protection market following the release of the consultation paper in June.
Currently it is unclear if the RDR will be extended into mortgage and general insurance. We do not believe the FSA have any intention to do this at present and are more likely to assess the impact in the LP&I market before any further read across is proposed.
