Finance houses such as Merrill Lynch, HSBC and Abbey National have set up wealth management for the mass-affluent after overestimating demand by a factor of four, accountants at KPMG said.
Merrill Lynch and HSBC set up a joint venture to cater for the mass affluent more than a year ago, while Abbey National launched a similar business more recently. Simon Walker, a partner at KPMG, said: "Neither has done well."
