The dilemma of free market vs nanny regulator is at the root of many financial scandals and scams. Personal pensions and the property boom in the Maggie’s era gave us mortgage endowments and the first pension transfer debacle in the ‘90s. The more recent pension freedoms led to yet another, headlined by British Steel debacle. Neil Woodford was supporting start-up businesses rather than investing in blue chips as assumed and no-one, especially the regulator, realised in time. Peer-to-Peer lending was encouraged as a way to get struggling businesses out of austerity. Which made it the latest financial Wild West, a mantle now assumed by CryptoCurrencies. Will it all still be happening in thirty years time. Of course it will.
“Britain has lost 435 financial advice firms since 2022”
Headline figures, there were over 200,000 financial advisers at the end of the ’90s, there are around 30,000 now and our numbers are continuing to reduce.