Do consumers really need competition in the advice sector?

Do we need competition in the advice sector?

In the FCA's never-ending desire to create more competition, there is one area which, to date, has not been under much pressure: the advice sector.

That might sound odd, given one way to look at RDR is that it was formed to create competition for advice. If that was the premise of RDR – and I am not sure it was – then it hasn't worked. RDR was about removing commission, as the regulator and consumers are convinced it is the 'big evil' of financial advice. This big evil was also the reason why financial advice was so expensive. The boat has sailed on this debate as commission is gone from the vast bulk of products, except under agreement with the client. But, with the removal of commission, the cost of financial advice hasn't drop...