Subject: FW: [IFADU] Re: Defence Union complains to EU over adviser
qualifications
-----Original Message-----
From:
IFADUgooglegroups.com On Behalf Of grotblik
Sent: 24 July 2008 23:46
To:
IFADU
Subject: [IFADU] Re: Defence Union complains to EU over adviser
qualifications
I've been thinking - never a good thing - and I
thought the following.
Who should I send it to?
Dear
..........
I was dismayed by the decision to introduce formalised examinations over and above those already in place for financial advisers. The premise for this dismay, you may be surprised to learn, is from the point of view of an
educationalist. I am responsible for a generation of enquiring minds and my choice is simple - fill them with facts or fill them with wonder. The former can be looked up on the internet in a matter of seconds by almost every
pupil under the age of 18. The latter is the black art that teaching has had to
become.
Enquiring minds find solutions; those that can regurgitate facts
based on outdated data can do, but lack the innovative spark needed to stay
ahead.
For this country to maintain its dominance in financial services we
need to stay one step ahead of the competition. An enquiring mind does this
effortlessly.
The desire to produce examinations stifles this enquiring
mind because there is only one solution for the examiner to mark against. Oddly
enough the exam board may believe they have the best solution but the
regulator's disagree*.
What appears to be happening is that a new set of
standards are going to be introduced with no way for the IFA to know whether the
ideas set out in the coursework will be given any credence when the crunch time
comes - i.e. when a complaint comes in.
When an enquiring mind comes across
this sort of anomaly it balks; it questions; it disagrees profoundly.
The
Legal profession deals with enquiring minds in the best way possible - it allows
them to have their say and to argue the thing out publicly.
What open
court is available to IFAs? - IFADU have had to pursue the right to open
hearings for some time now and it appears that they will have to fight for the
right a little longer.
Assessment for learning is the ability for a pupil to look at how well they are doing as they progress BEFORE they attempt any significant examination hurdle. This ethos of knowing if you are doing things right or wrong is
anathema to financial services regulation - if an IFA asks the
FSA if they have correctly addressed a problem in advance - FSA will not give
firm answers - evidence is in the public domain and can be found if IFADU is
asked for it**. The evidence so far in the industry is that the regulator
neither is aware of the real issues [what happens in practice rather than the
right sounding words on a wet Wednesday afternoon meeting where a good decision
relates to how well a Board member has fared against a rival - without thought
for how much damage has been done to many innocents not in the room] nor does
the Regulator care.
The children of today have a very acute understanding
of what is right and wrong. They also have enquiring minds. I understand that
the current Regulator wishes to introduce an examination system that tests the
ability to answer out of date questions rather than examine an ability to adapt
to the ever-changing marketplace. I also understand that the regulator wants to
make this examination a threshold standard.
Being told in an exam that
there is a direct rationale for a product and that is the basis for being given
a license to trade would make most people think that by following those rules
you could be allowed to progress in the
industry, perhaps even enjoy the fruits
of one's labours. To be told after the event that what you were examined on was
not true would suggest a lack of respect towards the examinee that undermines
the requirement for an exam in the first place.
I never refer to my
pupils as Kids - they find it patronising (that means talking down to people) -
instead I call them Ladies and Gentlemen. One pupil confronted me about a minor
issue (not uncommon with intelligent
children) and said that I didn't respect
her - I
asked: what do I refer to her as? When she realised that I always
thought of her as a Lady, I suggested that she went away and came back, asking
if I had at any point ever treated her with anything except respect. She came
back
feeling a little ashamed and I told her not to be - she is a child and is
still growing and one day she will not need to fight against a lack of
respect (being "dissed" is the vernacular). To be able to communicate in
this way with a pupil demands a consistent and honest approach to all dealings
with the person (pupil) in front of you - an important lesson for the Regulator
if they too want the respect of the regulated.
I ask that the regulator
thinks a little bit further ahead than their next wet Wednesday's afternoon
meeting and thinks a little more carefully about who gains from the proposed
exam regime. Is the Regulator giving a consistent approach to all future
dealings with any with clients? Is this a sign of respect towards IFAs? Could it
be that FSA has finally grasped the crown of leadership and accepted that by
stating that the exams are necessary they are also saying that they have value?
- If they are then look carefully at what that value truly is.
Think
carefully about the following:
Should those that take the exam and always
follow the procedure set out in the exam coursework should always be put forward
as exemplars of best practice? If they have followed the procedures set out in
the exam should they
always be granted immunity from prosecution from FOS (or
the next variation on a theme)?
Always is a loooong time.
If at
this point you are thinking, "perhaps we should include exams more frequently"
be clear to all about who will be examining the regulators that preside over
decisions about complaints?
Will the Regulator finally accept that the
rules regarding sales at the time of the sale prevail in a complaint? FSA state
that the previous Ombudsman's or equivalent rules apply for sales preceding the
incumbent Ombudsman - the reality is the opposite. If you don't believe me
- check with IFADU for examples - there are many. Who is able to identify what
rules apply? Who took the right exam at that time to deal with a case?
If the case arose from a sale in April 2010 and the rules changed in July 2010 (I've given two months clearance there) but the complaint does not arise for 10 years - can you (today's regulator) say to the enquiring minds of today that in 2020 what they were examined on in April 2010 was not correct? Is there a guarantee being given? Treating customers fairly is an ideal but so is the idea that the examination system will right the problems being
experienced today in
the future.
An enquiring mind will find you out and will bring you to
account - as a teacher I know this as a given. It gives me comfort - I hope it
does you as well.
Yours,
Richard Wood
*Cases brought
before FOS have been decided against because a single person taking out their
first mortgage would have been incorrectly advised because they had "no need of
life cover". Ask IFADU for evidence if you do not believe me. Oddly enough this
directly contradicted by the then main
examiner:
"When assessing major
protection needs, such as in relation to a mortgage, it is important to realise
that these arise from the existence of a liability; the need is there,
regardless of other circumstances connected with the
mortgagor such as occupation, income or health. These other circumstances will naturally affect the underwriting of a protection policy and whether the mortgagor can afford it, but they do not affect the underlying need for
protection, which remains."
Chapter 1, Page 6, Financial Planning Certificate 2 Protection, Savings and
Investment Products, Course Handbook C Chartered Insurance Institute,
1994.
"If the client was single with no dependants, the adviser will
normally be able to identify the likelihood that he will have very little need
for life cover......
.....the need for life cover might only extend to
the cost of a funeral, although cover should always be effected for any
loans."
Chapter 8, Pages 8 & 9, Financial Planning Certificate 1
-Financial Service And Their Regulation, Course Handbook C Chartered Insurance
Institute, 1993.
**
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200304/ldselect/ldconst/68/68we71.htm
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