“It may be that the regulator needs to intervene otherwise this will likely end up with legal proceedings.”
Meanwhile, Richard Fyfe, chartered financial planner at Fyfe Financial, added: “I just hope it makes a difference but the CII appear to have a habit of ignoring this kind of thing and trying to string those defending the PFS along.
“If there’s no response this time it may need to be backed up by legal action.”
Tim Morris, IFA at Russell & Co, said there needed to be 100 per cent clarity on the money that belongs to them and how this will be protected going forward.
“If any adviser acted as the CII have so far, I'd expect them to be struck off the FCA register,” he said.
The CII and PFS have been approached for comment.
Elsewhere, in its full-year results ending December 31 2022, published this week (October 25), the Personal Finance Society reported total operating expenses of £7.99mn in 2022, of which £0.85mn was towards expert legal and financial advice on the back of the CII saga.
The PFS said operating expenses over the year were £3.22mn higher than in 2021 (£4.77mn).
It said the main reason for the increase related to event costs to support the in-person events held in 2022, such as the Festival of Financial Planning.
sonia.rach@ft.com
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