SPECIAL EDITION - NOVEMBER 2014

Dear Stakeholder

The importance of the Retail Distribution Review (RDR) Discussion Document published by the Financial Services Board on Friday, 7 November 2014, and the far-reaching consequences that come with the RDR proposals, warrant a Special Edition of Dispatches.

The RDR presents a watershed for our industry and we therefore urge all decision makers in our industry to study the discussion document.

In summary, the discussion document, which we believe is well researched and structured, outlines proposals for:

• The types of services that may be offered by intermediaries;
• The types of relationships that may exist between intermediaries and product suppliers;
• The types of remuneration that may be earned by those intermediaries for their services; and
• Regulatory measures to achieve these outcomes.

In total 55 regulatory proposals have been put forward and we will be working within our structures to formulate and provide commentary and input.

The deadline for comment is 2 March 2015.  This is a tight and challenging deadline given that we are about to go into the annual holiday season. We have devised a programme of work, which will be implemented by a newly formed RDR Work Group consisting of representatives from businesses across our membership. 

The first deadline for written feedback from member companies is 25 November 2014.

We look forward to working with our members and the FSB as we move into a different future for our industry.

Kind regards