Depolarised

1 December 2004 witnessed the depolarisation of financial advice. Firms will now be able to advise consumers on products, whether from across the whole market, from a limited number of providers or a single provider. All private customers will receive two keyfacts documents: “keyfacts about our services” (the initial disclosure document [IDD]) sets out the type of advice and products on offer; “keyfacts about the costs of our services” is a menu of different payment options – commission or fee – with detail on the levels and how the commission charges compare to the market average by product.“By providing this information at the start of the advice process, it will be easier for consumers to shop around in order to get the best value for money,” said Dan Waters, FSA Director of Retail Policy.