BBC News Online: Business: Your Money

Treasury raps financial advisors over pensions

Mrs Liddell called in 30 senior representatives of IFAs and IFA networks and told them she was very concerned about the slow progress in the sector.

She said that IFA's were seriously lagging behind the major pension firms who had made big strides in sorting out their pension cases.

And Mrs Liddell told the IFAs that her patience was exhausted by their lack of progress.

She said: "I am amazed at the attitude of firms who seem to think their inaction is defensible, and when faced with phase two of the review choose to blame everyone except themselves.

"People have lost out as a result of having been sold products, which were wrong for them. IFAs have a clear responsibility to sort out whether any of their customers deserve compensation and provide it where it is warranted.

"Where there was mis-selling, those who took the profit should now face the pain."

The meeting followed an announcement yesterday by the Personal Investment Authority (PIA) that 41 IFAs were being disciplined for failings connected with the pensions review.

Mrs Liddell added: "I hope this action by the PIA makes it absolutely clear to all IFAs that discipline is a real prospect if they fail to deal with their cases.

"In the long term, if the IFA sector fails to put its house in order and genuinely command the trust of customers, it will not only call into question the viability, but possibly the desirability, of the current industry structure."

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