With 11 months to go until R day, we may be in the midst of the calm before the regulatory storm.

Space01 today proudly claimed it had launched the ‘most pants website ever’. It would be hard to disagree as the charity Smalls for All, on whose behalf the site was launched, has to date collected over 25,000 pairs of knickers and distributed them to women and children in poor countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

Certainly many commentators and industry chiefs are suggesting that more IFAs will ‘restrict’ than had been previously thought. At the sharp end of the market this concurs directly with what Space01’s own panel of IFAs has been telling us in our regular research sessions.

Technology never stands still. That means brands have to follow suit. Sometimes it seems you have to innovate simply to stand still.

We’re always delighted when a client (and friend) wins an award. So then, congratulations to Pete Chadborn at Plan Money, who was called on stage at the Health Insurance Awards to receive the ‘gong’ for Best Protection Intermediary.

Protection insurers were on the receiving end of quite a challenge from advisers last week  – coordinated by the Financial Technology Research Centre - to dramatically extend post-sales online support.