Is now a good time to be an IFA?

With the UK financial services market experiencing so much doom and gloom and with the redtops and the broadsheets conspiring to make it sound considerably worse than it actually is, its vitally important for the Independent financial adviser to try and ensure that they are the choice of the consumer rather than the 'big four' or the other high street banks and building soceities.
 
Given the behaviour of the banks over the last year or so, completely reckless and without consideration for recourse, mismanagement on a grand scale and complete ignorance of the consumer now should be the time that IFA's are marketing themselves as heavily as they ever did to ensure a fair market share of the displaced business.  I don't think that the brand that the banks have spent years nurturing is going to be strong enough to retain the consumer confidence that they have held for so long in its entirety and this means more business for the UK Independent financial adviser

The IFA is 'Independent', not tied or multi-tied, nor do they fit into any of the new breed of groups of sales or 'generic' advice.  Their actions are based on the need of the client and not on the requirement to achieve a target or the need of a banking or assurance institution.  There is no sales target, most are self employed,  they have no product targets, they're not required to sell a particular quota of say, life assurance or bonds.

Another good thing to the IFA is that most of their business comes via word of mouth with a good recommendation.  There is no reliance on counter  staff almost kidnapping customers as they walk in branch and harrying them until they agree to see what can loosely be termed an 'adviser' and in truth probably comes closer to a sales person.

Also, they aren't multi-tied,  which means that they don't have to try and sell one type of protection product from a limited panel of providers which conveniently happens to be more expensive for the client to purchase, simply because the commission is loaded.  This practice is called dual pricing and is demeaning: there's the real price (which they would rather have teeth pulled than show the client) and there's the one specially arranged between the 'multi tied' adviser and the insurance company.

Independent Financial advisers pride themselves on always being able to offer the best advice at all times and they will always act on the clients behalf and not with a hidden agenda - Now which would build the better relationship?