In the 80s and 90s, banks and building societies bought life insurance, pension companies and fund managers, took on lots of financial advisers and sold financial products by the bucket-load, by means both fair and foul, to their customers. Following the banking crash and the PPI and other scandals, they swiftly about-turned and flogged what was left. So the fact that the likes of NatWest are sniffing around Quilter, one of the biggest financial advice and fund platforms, is a big deal in every sense. And mark my cynical words, history, will, alas, repeat. As sadly, it always does.
“M&G boss: We want to be a top five player in the wealth market”
Here’s another brick in the ‘we’ve seen it all before’ wall. The mighty Pru once ruled the financial advice market, with armies of ‘Men from’ knocking on doors, selling insurance, savings plans and pensions and actually doing a lot of good for a lot of people.
