New rules proposed by the Financial Services Authority to ban upfront commissions for financial advisers will be one of the most important regulatory changes in the history of retail financial services, and could lead to a "complete overhaul" of the financial advice industry within the next decade.

The Financial Services Authority said it plans to make financial advisers agree the cost of financial advice with clients up-front before the end of 2012, preventing the possibility of commission-bias to sell certain products, in an attempt to boost consumer trust.