In conclusion, you still need to evidence why a personal pension is at least as suitable as the stakeholder and cannot discount stakeholder because it may not facilitate adviser charging.
The simple stakeholder arrangement may be most suitable for transactional clients with lower investment levels who do not want to engage with you for ongoing advice and do not require the wider investment choices and management that wealthier or more sophisticated clients may demand and are prepared to pay for.
If the stakeholder does not facilitate adviser charging and is the most suitable recommendation, then the adviser will need to charge a fee.
Simon Thomas is head of regulatory policy of Tenet Group