Citywire Blogs to host debate on the FSA's platforms Discussion Paper

The Citywire Blogs are proud to announce that we are exclusively hosting a Blog on the Financial Services Authority's (FSA) Platforms Discussion Paper, with the aim of generating informal discussion on a number of the questions raised in the paper.

The paper, published by the FSA at the of the end of June and entitled ‘Platforms: the role of wraps and fund supermarkets' can be found here on the FSA website.

The FSA says it:

‘Wants to ensure that platforms benefit consumers and that regulation does not act as a barrier to growth, competition and innovation in this market. This paper aims to stimulate industry debate about the standards firms should meet in offering and using platforms.

‘It looks at the structure of the platform market; the roles and responsibilities of advisers and platform providers, and how regulation applies to them; and how platforms are used and the impact of incentives and charges.’

The deadline for formal comments on the paper is 26 October. Details of how to submit a formal response are contained in the paper.

In order to gauge stakeholders' views on an informal basis and stimulate further industry debate on certain issues, the FSA has asked Citywire to host a Blog on four of the questions raised in the paper. These are:

- To what extent (if any) can the adoption of platforms support a move away from up-front commission? Are there differences between fund supermarkets and wraps in this respect?

- The FSA requires firms to explain the overall costs of products and services to the customer, including the cost of services delivered through platforms. How do you think this is best achieved?

- Do you believe that platform providers can or should be encouraged to offer access to more universally suitable products that could then be considered purely as 'wrappers'? What characteristics do you think pensions and life products would need to be considered as 'wrappers'?