Speaking at the Tax Incentivised Savings Association conference, head of asset management Ed Harley, who will also hold a similar position at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), admitted the FSA had been “not been as good as getting message across as we would have liked”.
“One of the really important points about how regulation is going to change is that we want to be more open and accountable,” he said. “We want to get out there to talk to firms.”
The FCA would also attempt to show a “clear link” between the fees advisers paid and services they received in return, he added.
But according to a regulatory lawyer, the FCA will be run as a consumer champion and not for the benefit of member firms.
Simon Morris, a partner at CMS Cameron McKenna, said CEO designate Martin Wheatley would run the regulator primarily to avoid a “kicking” from politicians and the media.
“The FCA will be a very politically savvy regulator,” he said. “It will win points by being seen as a consumer champion, not by being soft on firms.”
