Product Selection versus advice
Madonna, you've moved to a different but valid point. There is continuing confusion between these two entirely different business'es.
Product selection takes place after advice is provided, whether by self invested route above or by taking professional services. Especially for simple commodity type products like ISA'a, or SSIA's, 70% of the latter are deposits, its clear take intermediary bypass is high. But not for all firms I would speculate. Good firms that are seen by their clients as broad based financial planners, and typically these days with AA status, will already have been proactive, and maintained the client relationship even at these points.
Advice is an entirely different proposition. EG How can I retire with the assets and liabilities I've got? When do you think I will reach the point of financial independence, based on how I'm doing things today? Hey, if I don't make it long term, and lose my future income because of Ill health, what can I do to compensate the family? And what about premature death, by how much should I increase the probate value of my estate using life insurance, and what should I buy? Which is better for me Critical Illness or PHI, or a combination, whose most begnign of claims payments? I need to finance a commercial property, but I want to avoid my existing bankers how can you help? I feel I'm paying out far too much on insurances and loans can you do a review and advise? What about switching lenders for some of my loan portfolio, would incurring break costs make sense? Which should I do, SSIA, Personal Pension, or accelerated mortgage? I'm divorcing my spouse, can you advise on the litany of pension schemes we've accumulated? I've a transfer offer from my defined benefit scheme, does it make sense to take it, and what can I do? I like the idea of a self administered scheme, but I'd like to but property, can you help. I'm concerned about my overall exposure to markets through my savings and pensions, and getting confused reactions from my advisors, can you review for me.
ETC ETC ETC.
If life and pension salespeople don't learn to evolve from product sellers to broader based advisors, and reposition themselves as financial planners, or specialists like in finance arrangement, sure they'll get hammered. But such a person is merely a free lance direct sales person anyway, shortly to be called restricted advisor. I don't say this lightly nor to generate ire, merely pointing out the position which genuine Independent Advisors need to go. Getting AA status is pretty crucial to marketing that proposition in the marketplace evolving, I would have thought.