Standard Life unveils adviser charging proposition

Standard Life has announced details of how it will be facilitating adviser charging and on which products, with a view to launching its retail distribution review (RDR) ready proposition in the last quarter of 2012.

The life company has also announced plans to unbundle its fund supermarket Fundzone although the Standard Life wrap will retain its semi-bundled charging structure until the Financial Services Authority (FSA) rules on whether or not to ban fund manager rebates.

Standard has said it will offer adviser charging on the following products:

• Sipp, including drawdown
• Active Money personal pension
• Retail Portfolio bond
• Mutual funds and ISAs, through Fundzone

It will also facilitate initial, but not ongoing, adviser charging for annuities.

Standard said it would not offer adviser charging on products where there was limited demand or which it no longer actively marketed.

This includes:

• Retail endowments
• Protection products
• Tailored Investment Bond
• With-Profit Bond  
• Distribution Bond
• Individual stakeholder pension
• Personal Pension Plan
• Personal Pension Flex
• Personal Pension one

Graeme Bold, Standard Life UK retail director, said: ‘We see the transition to adviser charging as a unique opportunity to send a signal of change to consumers, removing any perceived bias created by providers’ influence over remuneration structures.

‘It allows the amount, timing and funding of any adviser charges to be a matter purely for the adviser and their clients. As a result, advisers need the flexibility to charge clients for their services in a way that suits them both.’

Standard Life is also set to publish the mutual fund manager rebates it receives on its fund supermarket Fundzone later this year as it looks to unbundle the platform. 

Standard though said it would not be unbundling the Standard Life wrap and instead keep its existing semi-bundled charging structure.