All Personal Touch wealth management advisers providing clients with advice on the new pension freedom regime will be required to pass RO8 by 31 March 2016. For all advisers who already hold G60 or AF3, RO8 is optional although the support is available to all.
Advisers who wish to become qualified through an advanced level 6 pensions qualification will study the CII RO8 as an ideal stepping stone to achieving this, with an additional support programme provided for the advanced pension qualification.
Any Personal Touch advisers who choose not to provide advice in the ‘at retirement’ arena, will continue to have the option to refer the business to company advisers in the network’s central ‘Hub’.
Advisers who currently provide pensions and retirement advice, but choose not to in the light of the recent industry changes, can continue to do so until 31st March 2016.
Simon Hewitt, wealth propositions manager, explained:
“It may seem like rather a progressive move on our part to insist that all wealth advisers wishing to give client advice under the new pensions regime now go back to their study books, particularly after all the hard work many did for RDR in the past few years.
"But above all we have a commitment to maintain the highest quality standards. In the same way we have linked member fees to quality criteria, we want our end clients to receive the highest level of professional advice in what is now clearly a very specialist area: incentivising members to upskill is therefore a very important investment for us in the future.”
Alex Lawrie, director of Personal Touch member firm, Optimize Financial Solutions Limited, commented:
“The opportunities and variables in the 'at retirement’ market are now vast. Professional qualifications are a key foundation to gaining the detailed understanding to support clients in this new market. We are really pleased that the support program our network has developed will help us with our continued professional development as our industry continues to evolve post RDR."
