August 31, 2009

An increasingly nasty war is raging in the financial services industry, with companies fighting for market share. The foot soldiers are intermediaries, who are encouraged with high commissions. The main casualties are consumers.I wrote a column earlier this year that warned about the war, but it seems to be increasing in intensity rather than diminishing.

One of the reasons the battles are heating up is the economic downturn. Individuals have less money to spend. This means they have less money to invest in financial products, which in turn means lower earnings for financial services companies and their sales forces.