IFAs ‘should publish fees’

INDEPENDENT financial advisers (IFAs) should be forced to publish their fees online to help people make informed decisions, a consumer group has claimed.

Fees charged by different IFAs can vary by thousands of pounds, according to research out today from Which?, making it difficult for consumers to gauge how much they should pay. It claimed fees charged for transferring £10,680 – the full allowance – into a stocks and shares Isa ranged from £106 to £2,500. It also found that while some advisers charged less than £600 to arrange a protection insurance policy, one fee was almost £2,000 higher.

It called for IFAs (who will no longer be able to accept commission from providers from next year) to be forced to publish rate guides online.

Peter Vicary-Smith, chief executive of Which?, said: “At present it’s very difficult for customers to know how much they’re going to be charged.”