On the horizon

With the Financial Services Authority looking for a softer line on commissions, the regulation outlook is not so bleak for brokers, says Kean Seager.

First the bad news - there is little doubt some brokers will go out
of business as regulation costs begin to bite. But the good news is that
others will flourish.


When regulation hit the independent financial adviser sector there was a
significant reduction in the number of firms. There was only a small cut
in the number of individual practitioners, however, and while some firms
closed most coped by merging with other groups, joining networks or
learning to handle compliance more cost-efficiently