The number of independent pension advisory firms in the Netherlands is set to plunge from 6,500 to between 300 and 500 because of new government rules, the Financieele Dagblad reports on Thursday.

The forecast comes from the financial services expertise centre which has been involved in drawing up the new rules.
From 2014, only advisors who have been fully certified will be able to offer financial advice. In addition, from 2013 advisors will no longer be allowed to accept fees from the providers of complex financial products like mortgages and pensions.
‘In the main, it is the non-specialised offices which will close,’ pension advisor Dirk van Oord told the paper.
Next year, all independent financial advisors will have to tell the financial services authority if they wish to remain in business. They will then have two years to bring their expertise up to scratch.