FCA technical specialist Rory Percival has warned that advisers and planners should be way of adopting a "one size fits all" approach when it comes to using Centralised Investment Propositions (CIPs).
Mr Percival told the eValue Better Outcomes Conference on wealth management in London today that advisers should be careful not to "shoehorn" clients into CIPS that may not be suitable for them.
He said CIPS could bring many benefits for clients, including a more consistent approach and more robust investment processes, but they may not be right for all clients and their cost and benefits had to be scrutinised before moving clients into them.
He said when it came to CIPS the FCA had "no issue with firms streamlining the advice process," but advisory firms had to be able to demonstrate that moving a client to a CIP, an increasingly popular approach, was "the right thing to do" for clients.
He said: "We've always said that where there is additional cost to the client then there needs to be an additional benefit and also that the additional benefit needs to be commensurate with cost. Are clients getting a good deal?"
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He said the main risks with CIPs were that clients could be pushed into one without a robust suitability process being carried out and this might be detrimental to clients. The FCA is maintaining a watch on this, he said.
He said: "We have seen firms where there is an assumption that a CIP is the best thing for the clients without going through the suitability process." Professional advice was key, he said.
On the subject of simplified advice and non-advised financial sales he said the FCA was looking at this area at the moment and he said he was aware of "concerns" about the role of the Financial Ombudsman when it came to its role in this area.
He said the FCA was mindful the Ombudsman could be a "logjam" when it came to developing these services and the FCA had factored this into its thinking.
• Mr Percival revealed at the conference that he was currently going through the financial advice process with a 'financial planner' and was finding it "exciting." He said he had to answer lots of questions on what he planned to do post retirement.
He said the move was giving lots of insight into the Financial Planning process.