Financial Services Regulation

摘要

FINANCIAL PLANNING is a relatively new profession spawned in the US during the 1970s from the life insurance industry. Financial planning had a mediocre rise during the 1970s and 80s but has gathered momentum during the 1990s and into the new millennium. This momentum has been driven by the globalisation of financial markets, increased access to these markets by non-institutional investors and decreasing participation by government in providing retirement plans.Given the importance of the role of a financial planner, there is a remarkable lack of consistency in the regulation of their activities. Much of the regulation on a country by country basis focuses on the regulation of financial products, not on the process of giving advice by a financial planner. However, there are encouraging signs that regulators are recognising the role played by the financial planner in matching a financial product to the needs of the individual consumer.