The regulator published its much-anticipated policy statement PS20/6 (date) and guidance consultation GC20/1 on defined benefit transfer advice. Most of it will be unsurprising to industry, as much had been mooted prior to its publication, but it does bring some additional clarification what constitutes suitable advice for DB transfers. PS20/6 and GC20/1 build on two previous policy statements on DB transfer business. The guidance consultation ends in October.
ISA activity was less pronounced in the third quarter of 2017, with sales dropping to £1.5bn. However, pensions picked up the slack and generated around 70% of platforms’ net flows. This was due to a combination of investors exercising their pension freedom rights and the steady pipeline of DB transfers.