The Financial Services Authority (FSA), the UK watchdog, is to scrap the controversial "polarisation" rule that forced firms selling retail investment products to either ally themselves to one fund manager or offer independent advice about the entire range.

The regulator will instead propose that firms must prepare an initial disclosure document presenting the range of options available to consumers. This will be tied in to the new "menu" that advisers must present to clients, under regulations announced by the FSA last month.