Having a bit of time has meant a little bit more interest in the Olympics than I thought, but as I write the games have come and gone and we are still basking in the warm afterglow of sporting success and national pride and talking about the legacy.
It did make me wonder whether we could use some of this good feeling that has been generated with the Games and the preceding Jubilee in our quest to improve savings and the trust in our industry.
Who would have bought a Diamond Jubilee pension? And who could resist the strapline “Saving for retirement could mean you can afford to go and see another Olympic games”.
But seriously, over the last few weeks we have seen further preparation for RDR with new charging structures announced, systems to facilitate adviser charging but yet further research on how people are not saving!
We are now seeing stories seeking to defer the FSA ban on cash rebates and suggesting that SIPP providers are finding it difficult to meet the fast approaching deadlines for the disclosure of charges.
In difficult investment markets it appears that more people are making their own investment decisions and the story seems to be that there are more of the “if it looks too good to be true then it is” category.
As an industry our focus is still on the supply side of the equation when perhaps we should be concentrating on the demand side.
We must focus how we encourage people to save more - charges, service and solutions to real problems are needed with retirement planning being the big ticket.
Platforms are the glue that will hold all this together and allow advisers to offer a real joined up service. The interaction of tax efficient savings wrappers and a consistent and suitable approach to risk and investment allocation could add real value for clients at a time when showing the value of advice is key.
Auto enrolment is almost with us and this could well give a bit of a nudge to a lot of people but it will not be a solution on its own and we must work with it to succeed.
A big issue for me though is with regard to retirement income – gilt rates (and therefore annuity rates) continue to fall and there is a real squeeze on how much an individual can withdraw from their pension and I do think a review of retirement options as a whole would be beneficial to the industry.
So hopefully a new slant on some old issues and over the coming months I will look at some of these issues in more detail. If we get it right in the near future then our legacy could be a valuable one.
Mike Morrison
Head of Platform Marketing
AJ Bell