We have had an interesting interaction with a very old fashioned provider this week. Our client had discovered that they had a couple of Child Trust Funds with this provider but were struggling to get any information. 

The FCA is clearly inching its way towards breaking down the boundary between advice and guidance with the aim of giving more ’targeted support’, as it calls it, to millions of pension savers.

I’ve always believed that we should look after the wealth creators; the entrepreneurs, the business starters, the self employed, the pioneers, the creative people who spot a market opportunity, the professionals who launch new services and start-ups.

FCA bashing is something of a sport in the trade press, and we’ve certainly levelled criticism at the regulator ourselves, so it was pleasing this week to have a good reason to portray the FCA as the hero rather than the villain.

Consolidation is an interesting word and it’s probably something very much on the mind of many Financial Planners and financial advisory firms as the M&A wave continues.

Financial Planning continues to evolve and it’s clear that due to a number of pressures - and opportunities - many planners are shifting their focus to more upmarket clients with bigger portfolios.

I suspect many in the regulatory community never expected to be readying to throw some of their carefully-crafted rules on a bonfire of red tape to boost business growth, but that’s exactly what they are being asked to do by the government which this week stepped up its efforts to demand regulatory reform to promote business expansion.

News this week that life expectancy in most of the UK has fallen for the last couple of years has raised a few eyebrows and also got me thinking about the impact of this on all sorts of major financial services challenges, the State Pension being one.

In this Guest Column for Financial Planning Today, Ilana Miller, investment lead, distribution at Royal London, looks at some potential answers to the advice gap.

The Chancellor could easily have turned up to the Mansion House this week dressed as a magician because she certainly pulled some rabbits from the hat.