To hear Pádraig Floyd's exclusive interview with Aegon chief executive Otto Thoresen, click here.

Even if you don’t like theme parks and white-knuckle entertainment, you won’t have avoided the rollercoaster of the markets of the past 12 months.

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has recently distributed its latest Quality of advice findings. Even though it acknowledges that progress has been made, there are still some very worrying statistics appearing.

The credit crisis has permanently changed our view according to Pierre Bes, managing director at Barclays Capital London. “More than a year after the turmoil, the disasters have completely changed the way we look at investments. The focus is on liquidity, volatility, and credit related issues. How do you give clients confidence to invest in this market at this time? Private banks and their clients are tempted to maintain overly high levels of liquidity and absorb the performance hit. The value of credit ratings has declined and the significance of issuers is paramount. Diversifying asset classes has never been more important.”

Just when it appeared that the Financial Services Authority (FSA) had achieved what no other government department has in the past decade – and hit upon some much-needed regulation that would considerably improve service to consumers – it’s gone and dropped a clanger.

The fuss over ‘non-doms’ – people living in the UK but ultimately ‘belonging’ elsewhere – has diverted attention from residence, ie what makes you tax resident in the UK in any given tax year.