Money Managers appeals independence ruling

Money Managers has decided to appeal an Advertising Standards Complaints Board ruling which defines independence.

Monday, September 29th 1997, 12:00AM

Money Managers has decided to appeal an Advertising Standards Complaints Board decision which says any adviser who receives commissions or brokerage can’t claim to be independent.
Money Managers principal Doug Somers-Edgar describes the decision as “absolutely amazing”, as it means the majority of advisers are not independent.
The decision comes about through complaints made against two Money Managers advertisements which question the level of disclosure and the firm’s use of the phrase “Independent Investment Advisers.”

In its written decision the board upheld the complaints and said “any financial adviser who received remuneration from issuers of financial products in relation to the sale and servicing of those products could not claim to be independent”.
The board’s decision has no legal standing and it is not binding on the industry, however it maybe that catalyst needed to fire debate on the unanswered question of what does independent mean?
Board secretary Glen Wiggs says the issue of independence is something the industry should have addressed long ago.
Wiggs, who has being involved in the industry himself, says it’s a subject which is often discussed but hasn’t been tackled by the industry.
He says the board’s policy is that if an industry has a standard about something which comes before the complaints board then that standard will be considered during the determination process.
“It’s a pity we have been left to deal with it,” he says. “The industry should have sorted it out.”
The Advertising Standards Complaints Appeal Board will hear the matter in November and its decision won’t be released until December at the earliest, Wiggs says.
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