10th Oct 2013 13:18
LONDON (Alliance News) - Mattioli Woods PLC's revenue continued to grow in the first quarter and current trading remains in line with its expectations, Executive Chairman Bob Woods Thursday told shareholders at the company's annual general meeting.
The pensions sector has faced a shake-up in recent months after UK regulators imposed new rules on how the financial advisory industry operates, though the specialist wealth management and pensions consultancy seems set to benefit.
The Financial Conduct Authority has ruled that financial advisers must achieve higher qualification standards in order to continue giving financial advice and it also banned the payment of commission to advisers selling financial products by the companies creating the products. Instead, commission is now agreed with and paid by the client, as part of the regulator's move to protect customers from financial advisers who may have had the incentive to rack up sales of financial products not useful to customers.
"The RDR heralds a period of unprecedented change in our key markets, creating enormous opportunities. Both our recent acquisitions, comprising the employee benefits and wealth management business of Atkinson Bolton Consulting Limited and pension administration business of Ashcourt Rowan plc, are bedding-in well," Woods said at the AGM.
Earlier this week, the FCA said it would shortly launch another thematic review into self-invested pensions, with Woods expecting the final rules to increase capital requirements for self-invested pensions operators.
"Self-invested personal pensions are once again under the spotlight of the regulator after the FCA launched another thematic review into the sector earlier this week. This latest review comes ahead of final rules that are expected to increase the capital resources requirement for SIPP operators, which I expect to be the catalyst for further consolidation within this sector," Woods told the AGM.
Mattioli Woods shares were Thursday quoted at 375 pence, up 12 pence, or 3.3%.
By Samuel Agini; [email protected]; @samuelagini
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