Concerns identified by the Financial Services Authority in the quality of advice provided by IFAs on structured products have prompted Jubilee Financial Products to roll out a nationwide training scheme on this sector.

The course aims to help IFAs deliver the best possible advice to their customers and minimise exposure to unnecessary risk.

“Matching risk and reward is a key function for IFAs and the recent FSA report on ‘Quality of advice on structured investment products’ suggests that failures here account for over 90 per cent of their concerns,” says JFP senior partner Ian Millward.

“As compliance plays an increasingly important role in the day to day business of an IFA’s work, it’s clear that this issue needs to be addressed now.”

In the report the FSA highlighted that exposing customers to an inappropriate level of risk was the most significant advice failing for IFAs, accounting for 67 of the 73 cases where it identified the advice as unsuitable.

“What is really galling for the sector is that what should be a key strength - clarity around risk – is in fact clearly identified as its biggest weakness,” Millward adds. “What these findings suggest is that there is a substantial ‘information gap’ between providers and IFAs. This training aims to address that.”

The programme will identify the various component parts involved in creating a structured product, recognising factors affecting pricing, highlighting key risks and how to best mitigate them. There will be a heavy focus on counter party risk and how financial strength is assessed.