The Bank of England held interest rates at 0.5 per cent today and kept the quantitative easing programme at £275bn.

Transact, the UK’s largest wrap platform, has been fined £3.5m by the Financial Services Authority for client money breaches.

Outsourcing is likely to become a key consideration for financial advisers post-RDR, according to Defaqto.

GDP is suggested to be 0.3 per cent for the three months ending in November, according to economic think-tank the National Institute of Economic and Social Research.

The Financial Services Authority has issued a consultation on guidance about the role non-executive directors should play in retail finance firms.

The average person does not start planning for their retirement until they are aged 52, according to Aviva.

Directly authorised advisers are leading the way in achieving professional qualifications in preparation for RDR.

Rathbones, a sponsor of the Institute of Financial Planning, has appointed a new chief operating officer.

Almost half of the population do not know what an annuity is, according to Standard Life.

Over three quarters of advisers are confident in the future of their business post-RDR, according to Ascentric.