FCA 2025 Financial Advice Market Survey: 4,100 Firms and 31,000 Advisers

This report presents findings from the FCA’s 2025 survey of financial advice firms. Alongside other data, it provides an evidence-based view of the sector, business models and capacity.

---

Financial advice helps people manage their pensions and investments, so they can make the most of their money.

Consumers value this advice. In our Financial Lives 2024 survey, 87% of consumers reported the advice they received was clear and understandable, and 85% said they were confident in it. Almost two-thirds (63%) said they’d be very likely to use the same adviser again.

Financial advisers play a key role in our priorities to build a stronger investment culture, strengthen trust, and secure good consumer outcomes.

We want to see a competitive, innovative and resilient financial advice market that supports sustainable growth alongside newer regulatory offerings such as targeted support and more simplified forms of advice to meet consumers’ needs. Data is a key part in this, and the reason why in 2025, we conducted a comprehensive survey of the UK financial advice sector, capturing responses from over 4,100 firms. We’ve also analysed the data we hold already on around 31,000  registered financial advisers. We’re grateful to firms for their responses.

We’ve used this data to provide sector insights. We hope that sharing these insights will enhance firms’ prospects to grow, innovate and succeed in the future. We’ll also use the analysis to identify risks across the sector and support our shift towards more data-led proactive supervision, as we’ve done in the wealth management sector.

This report draws a detailed picture of adviser capacity, business models and emerging pressures, enabling firms to benchmark themselves against market trends.

The findings show a stable but evolving sector: one that continues to serve the needs of its clients while adapting to structural, technological and regulatory change.

There may be opportunities for firms to innovate and grow, particularly through the Advice Guidance Boundary Review, digital transformation, client demographics, more diverse talent pipelines, and progress under the Consumer Duty.

We know consumers are also looking for advice and support online and we want more firms to meet them where they look for this support. Firms using social media and digital channels to get ahead of financial criminals will help displace scammers.

The findings show the diversity of the sector and the important role played by all firms.

Share

-

• Quick tip Highlight content for instant share

  Understanding the advice market: financial advice firms survey 2025

-

• -

  -

  -

• -

• -

  -

• -

  -

-

This report presents findings from the FCA’s 2025 survey of financial advice firms. Alongside other data, it provides an evidence-based view of the sector, business models and capacity.

---

Financial advice helps people manage their pensions and investments, so they can make the most of their money.

Consumers value this advice. In our Financial Lives 2024 survey, 87% of consumers reported the advice they received was clear and understandable, and 85% said they were confident in it. Almost two-thirds (63%) said they’d be very likely to use the same adviser again.

Financial advisers play a key role in our priorities to build a stronger investment culture, strengthen trust, and secure good consumer outcomes.

We want to see a competitive, innovative and resilient financial advice market that supports sustainable growth alongside newer regulatory offerings such as targeted support and more simplified forms of advice to meet consumers’ needs. Data is a key part in this, and the reason why in 2025, we conducted a comprehensive survey of the UK financial advice sector, capturing responses from over 4,100 firms. We’ve also analysed the data we hold already on around 31,000  registered financial advisers. We’re grateful to firms for their responses.

We’ve used this data to provide sector insights. We hope that sharing these insights will enhance firms’ prospects to grow, innovate and succeed in the future. We’ll also use the analysis to identify risks across the sector and support our shift towards more data-led proactive supervision, as we’ve done in the wealth management sector.

This report draws a detailed picture of adviser capacity, business models and emerging pressures, enabling firms to benchmark themselves against market trends.

The findings show a stable but evolving sector: one that continues to serve the needs of its clients while adapting to structural, technological and regulatory change.

There may be opportunities for firms to innovate and grow, particularly through the Advice Guidance Boundary Review, digital transformation, client demographics, more diverse talent pipelines, and progress under the Consumer Duty.

We know consumers are also looking for advice and support online and we want more firms to meet them where they look for this support. Firms using social media and digital channels to get ahead of financial criminals will help displace scammers.

The findings show the diversity of the sector and the important role played by all firms.

---

1. Data source

We designed the Financial Advice survey to give us data that wasn’t already available to us from regulatory returns or other sources.

Following a pilot in Q1 2025, the survey was sent to all firms whose primary activity is providing financial advice on investments to retail clients in Q2 2025. It gathered information to fill our prioritised data gaps, where we believed firms would be able to provide responses reasonably easily. More detail on our approach is given under the definitions and methodology section at the end of this report.

The report draws on data from other sources, including regulatory returns, the FCA's Financial Lives survey, the FS Register and data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS).

---

2. Key Findings

• Adviser capacity remains stable since 2021 at around 31,000 advisers, despite consolidation and shifts in market structure.
• Market delivery is increasingly concentrated due to consolidation activity but access to advice has been maintained.
• Technology and AI adoption is uneven but becoming increasingly important.
• Many firms have made, are implementing, or considering changes following our thematic review into retirement income advice.
• Workforce demographics highlight challenges around diversity and gender representation and the talent pipeline.
• Small firms are reporting more adjustments to support clients with characteristics of vulnerability, while larger firms are more consistent at identifying these clients.

---

3. Market Overview

3.1. Advice market survey - key facts

Key figures

• 31,000 advisers - In all firms giving financial advice, stable since 2021
• 4.1m retail clients
• £1tn Assets under Advice (AuA)
• 4,100 Survey responses
• 5,500 total firms that offer financial advice, this is a 15% drop since 2021, but advisers stable at 31,000
• 340 Advice firms have a total of 6,610 appointed representatives

---

69% **** of advice-firm clients main objective for seeking advice is pensions and retirement

---

12% of retail clients have characteristics of vulnerability; 5% supported with service adjustments

---

88% of retail clients receive ongoing advice

---

Chart

Data table

Download

---

Typical Adviser profile

150 clients per adviser

£250,000 assets per client

£2,000 revenue per client

---

Gender

Female advisers: 1 in 5

Female share by age: 1 in 5 under 50; 1 in 10 over 50

Support: 50% paraplanners and 70% support roles are female

Female clients: 29% individual female; 31% female as an advised couple/ partners

---

Age of Advisers

50% under 50, proportion under 40 rising since 2023

---

3.2. Evolving market structure and consolidation

The survey shows that the advice sector is stable but with room for growth.

Although the number of authorised firms has fallen by 15% since 2021, adviser numbers have remained steady at around 31,000.

Large advice groups, those with over 50 advisers, just 1% of firms, provide advice on half of all client assets, while a long tail of smaller firms continue to serve a wide and diverse client base.

Consolidation continues to reshape the market, and around a third of the largest firms are looking to acquire another firm or its client bank in the next 2 years.

Consolidation has not reduced access to advice. It can support retiring financial advisers who want to ensure their clients continue to benefit from advice. The strong resource behind most consolidating firms can support a smooth transition that results in good client outcomes.

Well-managed acquisition and integration can create real value for clients, employees, buyers and sellers of regulated entities. Where groups seek to grow quickly through acquisition, resourcing must keep pace with the group’s increasing scale and complexity.

Where integration has been poorly managed and resourcing has not kept pace with growth, we have seen harm to businesses and their clients.

---

3.3. Small firms remain crucial

We know that small firms (with 1-5 advisers) continue to play a vital role, particularly in local communities, where they often provide highly personalised, relationship-based advice and trusted long-term support.

Many small firms plan to grow over the next 2 years, with 18% planning or considering plans to increase revenue by more than 25%, and 13% planning or considering increasing their client base by 25% or more particularly in regions with strong local demand.

---

3.4. Operating Models and outsourcing (all firm sizes)

Firms across the market make extensive use of third party support. Use of third-party providers is particularly high for compliance and monitoring activity and is also common for paraplanning/investment research and client due diligence.

The use of third party providers is particularly important to small firms, with a much lower percentage (31%) employing paraplanners compared to 77% of medium-sized and 89% of large firms. There is however a large percentage of small firms (36%) that do not employ or use third party paraplanners, compared to 9% of medium-sized and 4% of large firms.

Paraplanning

---

Chart

Data table

Download

---

Compliance and client due diligence

---

Chart

Data table

Download

---

Reported staffing levels for firms responding to the survey also show the scale of paraplanning and support roles alongside employed advisers.

Table 1: Numbers employed at firms that responded to the survey

Firm size	Para planners	Other support	Financial advisers*	Total directly employed
Small	1,585	6,394	6,522	14,501
Medium	1,726	5,482	6,047	13,255
Large	2,354	7,539	14,304	24,197
All	5,665	19,415	26,873	51,953

• We extracted Financial Adviser numbers from the FS Register.

---

3.5. Market outlook

We know from the FS register, there has been a 15% reduction in firm numbers between 2021 and 2025.

Table 2: All firms able to provide advice to clients - trend from 2021 to 2025

Region	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025
London	1,171	1,149	1,121	1,075	1,027
SE England	992	966	939	883	834
SW England	659	643	636	591	558
E England	592	578	566	525	496
East Midlands	383	377	370	357	331
West Midlands	521	504	491	462	428
Yorkshire and the Humber	442	433	425	400	377
NE England	182	183	176	163	152
NW England	654	634	616	582	542
Scotland	537	515	502	475	452
Wales	257	255	250	239	230
Northern Ireland	145	141	141	133	121
UK	6,535	6,378	6,233	5,885	5,548

We also asked firms about their future growth and contraction plans over the next two years.  The analysis of these responses alongside recent trends in newly authorised firms suggests a further reduction in the number of firms of 5% is likely by 2028. There is no evidence though to suggest there will be a reduction in the number of financial advisers.

Future plans

Table 3: Percentage of firms responding yes and considering to each option

Firm types	Firm expects to wind down the business and apply to cancel	Controllers plan to sell the firm or sell all or part of its client bank	Firm plans to sell all or part of its client bank over the next two years	Revenue from regulated activities expected to grow by more than 25%	Expect to increase the number of new clients by more than 25%	Firm will look to acquire another financial advice firm or another firm's client bank
% firms that responded yes
Small	5%	7%	5%	10%	7%	2%
Medium	4%	5%	4%	22%	17%	17%
Large	6%	9%	9%	20%	19%	32%
% firms that responded considering
Small	8%	13%	11%	8%	6%	7%
Medium	2%	14%	6%	14%	12%	22%
Large	0%	19%	4%	22%	20%	26%
% firms responding ‘yes’ or ‘considering’ (combined)
Small	13%	20%	16%	18%	13%	9%
Medium	6%	19%	10%	36%	29%	39%
Large	6%	28%	13%	42%	39%	58%

---

3.6. Regional growth variations

This regional map provides a snapshot of these differences across regions. It is designed to help firms see the context in which they operate, and to consider how local conditions may shape service models and growth plans.

At a regional level, demand for advice is driven by differences in demographics and employment patterns such as self-employment and public sector employment rates. High rates of public sector employment with defined benefit pensions may dampen demand, while high rates of self-employment may increase it.

Regional growth maps for small firms

Assets under Advice (AuA) analysis - market share

Chart

Data table

Download
| All small firms AuA | £265.8bn |
| --- | --- |

Chart

Data table

Download
| All small firms new investment money in previous 12 months | £19.3bn |
| --- | --- |

Chart

Data table

Download
| All small firms average AUA per adviser | £41.5m |
| --- | --- |

Chart

Data table

Download
| All small firms average AUA per client | £296,000 |
| --- | --- |

Chart

Data table

Download
| All small firms average (mean) revenue per client | Mean - £2,028
Median - £1,534 |
| --- | --- |

Chart

Data table

Download
| All small firms average AUA per firm | £80.6m |
| --- | --- |

---

3.7. Serving the mass affluent: a potential untapped opportunity

The need for better support is clear. Our Financial Lives survey has consistently shown that only around 9% of consumers take financial advice - just 4.6m. It also shows around 7 million adults in the UK hold £10,000 or more in cash savings and could be missing out on the long-term benefits of investing. This highlights an advice gap and unmet demand.

We have looked at the UK population across the 12 regions (as defined by the ONS) and its relative wealth alongside factors that may drive or drag on the demand for financial advice.

Overlaying ONS regional data on adviser location suggests there may be a demand for advice in the segment where prospective clients hold £100k investable assets.

We asked if firms would consider offering simplified advice, as proposed in the DP23/5 Advice Guidance Boundary Review Policy Paper. Our survey found nearly one third of all firms, and three fifths of large firms were considering this. We want to see more people getting support and a market that innovates to offer a range of services to meet differing client needs. The updated proposals in our consultation on simplifying the pensions and investment advice rules are designed to support this.

---

---

4. Business model evolution: digital transformation and innovation

4.1. Digital engagement, artificial intelligence and channel adoption

Meeting clients face-to-face remains important, with 99% of firms meeting clients in person. But firms are also using technology, and many are considering using artificial intelligence (AI).

Firms are exploring AI in three main areas: supporting client engagement, strengthening compliance and risk monitoring, and improving operational efficiency through automation (for example, for meeting notes, data extraction and analysis).

While interest is broad, fewer firms report they will deploy AI within advice processes in the near term (around 14% of small firms and 38% of medium‑sized firms, rising to just over half of large firms). This suggests that for many firms—particularly smaller ones—AI is still at an exploratory stage.

Where there is interest, it is concentrated among larger firms: when we also include firms who reported they might consider using AI in the advice process, 95% of large firms and 81% of medium‑sized firms are either using AI in the advice process or considering it, compared with 48% of small firms.

Future plans

Table 4: Percentage of firms responding yes and considering to each option

Firm types	Firm will utilise artificial intelligence (AI) technology within its advice processes	Firm will utilise artificial intelligence (AI) technology within its compliance / business assurance processes	Firm will utilise artificial intelligence (AI) technology to support other business functions
% firms that responded yes
Small	14%	10%	16%
Medium	38%	27%	38%
Large	52%	37%	46%
% firms that responded considering
Small	33%	35%	40%
Medium	43%	54%	50%
Large	43%	59%	50%
Small	48%	45%	56%
Medium	81%	81%	88%
Large	95%	96%	96%

The same pattern appears in client‑facing digital capability. 65% of large firms have or are considering a mobile app and 78% a client portal website, compared with 31% and 49% of small firms. These differences are likely driven by scale, investment capacity and access to IT expertise. For firms with more relationship‑led models, the business case for client‑facing platforms may also be more selective.

External evidence suggests client expectations for digital service are increasing. The Mintel Customer Service in Financial Services Report 2025 highlights a significant shift in consumer expectations as online services mature, reporting that 55% of consumers would only choose a provider that offers 24/7 support.

Table 5: How firms interact with their clients

% responding ‘yes’	face to face	mobile app	website	contact centre	other	mobile app	website
Small	99%	16%	33%	22%	79%	15%	16%
Medium	99%	26%	54%	47%	87%	29%	24%
Large	100%	46%	67%	65%	90%	19%	11%

Firms may be exploring investment in digital tools and platforms to support greater efficiency and adviser capacity, enable multi-channel engagement, and appeal to younger, more digitally enabled clients.

---

4.2. Digital capability as a competitive differentiator

Digital capability is likely to become a key differentiator across the sector. For mid-sized and large firms, investment in technology may already be helping to improve efficiency and scale.

For smaller firms, digital tools and AI may offer opportunities to enhance productivity, support scalable growth and strengthen client relationships –particularly where firms can access shared solutions, partnerships or network-based support.

As innovation accelerates, existing regulatory expectations, including the Consumer Duty, continue to apply.

Used well, technology and AI may present a significant opportunity for firms of all sizes to grow sustainably, reach more consumers and enhance client outcomes, while preserving the personalised advice that remains central to the profession.

---

---

5. Diversity

Diversity and talent: adviser workforce versus client base

---

5.1. Gender and alignment with client needs

The survey highlights gender and age differences in the adviser population, alongside clear opportunities to strengthen future capacity and align the profession with a changing client base.

Women currently account for around 18% of financial advisers, and over half (51%) of multi-adviser firms do not have any women in adviser roles.

This contrasts with the client base, where women represent a substantial share of demand: around 29% of advised clients are women and a further 31% receive advice jointly with a partner.

---

5.2. Age profile and talent pipeline

Our analysis of existing FCA data provides insight into the age profile of the profession.

The average adviser is in their late 40s, reflecting a well-established and experienced workforce. This reinforces the importance of effective succession planning and structured early career pathways to support sustainable growth, as experienced advisers retire over time.

Many small firms operate as family businesses, meaning succession planning is commonly informal and based on passing ownership and control to the next generation.

Consolidation supports retiring financial advisers who want to ensure their clients continue to benefit from receiving financial advice.

---

5.3. Strengthening future capacity through training and development

There are encouraging signs of progress. Larger firms, in particular, have invested in structured training and ‘academy’ programmes, contributing to growth in the number of advisers in their 30s, with a 12% increase in advisers aged 30-39 seen in the data we hold on financial advisers from 2023 to 2025.

---

5.4. Supporting women’s progression into adviser roles

Among advisers under 50, around one in five are women, compared with roughly one in ten amongst those aged 50 and over. While representation remains lower across both groups, it appears to be increasing among younger advisers.

Women are well-represented in paraplanning (48%) and support roles (66%), highlighting a strong foundation of skills and experience within the sector.

As firms adapt their talent strategies, the larger proportion of female advisers under 50 suggests they are likely to play a bigger role in shaping the future advice workforce.

---

---

6. Raising advice standards, Consumer Duty and the path to better outcomes

6.1. Pensions and retirement advice as a core market priority

Pensions and retirement income advice remain central to the UK advice market, representing the majority of advice activity and some of the most complex consumer decisions.

Retirement is the primary objective for 69% of all advice firms’ retail clients. This includes retirement saving, pension consolidation, or accessing pensions at or near retirement.

This aligns with demographic realities: client bases are dominated by individuals aged 45+, and the shift from DB to DC pensions is driving a structural need for ongoing support.

As more consumers transition from saving to drawing down their pensions, advisers have a critical role in helping clients manage sustainability of income, investment risk and longevity.

In terms of clients’ other primary goals, saving for other objectives accounts for 23%, while objectives such as inheritance tax (IHT) planning (5%) and debt repayment (3%) remain specialist areas at much lower levels.

We also found that large firms reported that they’re providing less advice (3%) on IHT than medium and small firms (8%).

Retirement focus

Table 6: Primary objective for advice firms’ retail clients

Size of firm	Saving for retirement	Consolidating pensions/ Investments	Accessing pensions at retirement	Saving for another objective	Accessing pensions/ investments to pay off loans	IHT planning
Small	31%	16%	27%	15%	3%	8%
Medium	31%	17%	24%	16%	4%	8%
Large	42%	10%	13%	30%	2%	3%

| Total | 37% | 13% | 19% | 23% | 3% | 5% |
| Combined total | 69% | 31% |
The survey also shows firms are engaging with these challenges, particularly following our 2024 Retirement Income Advice Review.

Following the Review, firms have already made, are implementing, or considering changes following reviewing their approach to calculating sustainability of income (75%), control frameworks and management information (66%) record-keeping (57%), periodic reviews of sustainability (56%), fact-finding (54%) and. risk profiling (49%).

Table 7: Changes since the retirement income advice publication

Firms that responded yes/implementing/considering

Firm types	Approach to calculating sustainability of income	Risk profiling	Fact finding	Record keeping	Periodic review of sustainability	Control framework/MI
Small	74%	48%	52%	56%	56%	63%
Medium	77%	53%	63%	62%	57%	79%
Large	83%	56%	67%	59%	67%	89%
UK	75%	49%	54%	57%	56%	66%

---

6.2. Improving governance, assurance and advice quality

Ensuring that advice is suitable and in the client’s best interests is a core element of helping consumers navigate their financial lives.

The survey shows widespread adoption of established tools and processes for key aspects of advice, including risk profiling and assessing clients’ capacity for loss.

Around 80% of firms use external risk profiling questionnaires as part of their methods for assessing a client’s ability to bear investment losses. This indicates that the principles underpinning robust suitability assessments are well understood across the sector.

The survey showed that compliance oversight and assurance can vary. Firms reported reviewing around 30% of initial and replacement advice files and around 20% of ongoing advice files, with some conducting no internal or third party reviews for certain advice types.

Whether carried out internally or through third-party providers, reviews should meaningfully test the suitability of advice. Across firms of all sizes, sampling and review frameworks should be robust and risk-based to ensure advice remains suitable, fair, and aligned with Consumer Duty expectations.

Large firms (27%) were also more likely to have advised on higher risk or non-mass-market investments to retail clients than small (2%) or medium firms (5%). This could reflect their broader and more diverse client bases, access to specialist investment propositions, or greater product governance capacity.

---

6.3. Ongoing advice, value and service design

Ongoing advice forms the backbone of the advice model, with around 90% of clients being placed into these arrangements.

Table 8: Service profile of active retail clients – by age bracket

| Age | ****

Age profile of all clients | Profile of age bracket against services |
| One off financial advice/planning | Ongoing advice | Non- advised investment | Streamlined advice/ guidance |
| Below 45 | 15.0% | 9.5% | 87.5% | 2.3% | 0.7% |
| 45 to 59 | 28.6% | 7.3% | 90.3% | 1.4% | 1.0% |
| 60 to 69 | 30.3% | 4.2% | 93.0% | 2.5% | 0.3% |
| 70 and above | 26.1% | 7.8% | 89.1% | 2.5% | 0.6% |
We also found female clients are 15% more likely to receive ongoing advice services.

Oversight of ongoing services varies. Large firms, on average, reported reviewing a smaller proportion of ongoing advice files than small firms. While this may reflect the challenges of overseeing large adviser populations, it also increases the risk that weaknesses in ongoing services go undetected.

Assurance activity is a critical control, with the survey finding that there is scope for some firms to strengthen coverage. Alongside increasing file review rates, firms may benefit from improving how they test service delivery and use management information to monitor outcomes, as well as identifying emerging risks earlier. Getting these fundamentals right is one of the most effective ways firms can strengthen client outcomes and support sustainable advice models.

We found that 8% of small firms did not undertake reviews of initial advice - the corresponding figures were 19% for ongoing advice and 22% for replacement business.

In March, we published our consultation on simplifying the pensions and investment advice rules. We want to encourage firms to offer a range of services to meet different clients’ needs. We are proposing to simplify our ongoing advice rules that may be overly prescriptive. This includes removing the requirement for the suitability review for Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) and Insurance Distribution Directive (IDD) business to be at least annual. We seek to leverage existing obligations under the Consumer Duty to achieve flexibility for firms to innovate while ensuring a focus on good outcomes for consumers. Through these changes, we aim to support the development of new business and charging models, such as subscription and retainer models that are priced accordingly to offer fair value.

---

6.4. Supporting vulnerable clients and strengthening outcomes

From our supervision of the sector, we can see a strong correlation between firms that are well-run and have effective arrangements for supporting clients with characteristics of vulnerability, and the delivery of better consumer outcomes. The survey shows around 12% of retail clients are identified as having characteristics of vulnerability, and identification is improving across the sector.

The survey shows differences in how firms identify and support clients with characteristics of vulnerability. Large firms have governance frameworks and more systematic oversight that may make it easier to identify higher proportions of vulnerable clients (14%), rather than relying on adviser judgement alone.

Smaller firms, by contrast, often report slightly lower identification rates (11%) but notably higher rates of service adjustments for the clients they identify (66% versus 51% for medium-sized and 34% for large firms).

This may reflect that small firms’ relationship-led models could give advisers close knowledge of long-standing clients. However, fewer documented checks mean signs of vulnerability may be missed or go unrecorded. Some firms report either no vulnerable clients or vulnerable clients with no associated adjustments.

Strengthening documentation, review frameworks proportionate to firm size, and routine checks will help ensure all clients receive appropriate support in line with the Duty’s expectations.

---

---

7. Moving forwards and future engagement

By using data to better understand how the advice market is evolving, we aim to support a sustainable, growing advice sector that delivers consistently good outcomes for consumers.

The findings show a sector that has engaged positively to achieve the right outcomes for its clients, and where many firms are looking for ways to improve client outcomes – particularly in pensions and retirement income advice.

The findings also highlight opportunities to raise standards further. Differences in governance, controls, use of management information and assurance activity suggest that some firms could do more to embed good practice consistently, especially in the oversight of ongoing advice. This will help firms strengthen consumer outcomes, build trust and support long-term business resilience.

Overall, the survey suggests the sector is resilient and evolving, with consolidation and digital capability increasingly shaping how advice is delivered. By sharing these insights publicly, we aim to support all firms to reflect on their practices, raise standards and innovate responsibly.

We want to build a stronger investment culture and a resilient consumer investment market where more clients feel confident investing.

We’ll work with firms to ensure strong governance and robust risk systems proportionate to firms’ size and support responsible innovation. And we will continue to use this evidence to inform proportionate supervision - working with firms to promote sustainable growth while maintaining high standards of consumer protection.

---

8. Methodology

The survey was designed using a high proportion of binary questions (yes/no or picklist responses). However, certain questions required firms to provide estimated or approximate numerical values. Estimated or approximate values were permitted to avoid overburdening and not being able to respond with precise figures. This approach inevitably introduces a degree of data quality risk.

In some cases, firms did not respond correctly to questions asking for a number or percentage, for example when a question asked for a percentage, some firms gave non-percentage number above 100. We removed poor-quality data from the analysis and based the calculated insights on the cleaned population. The clean population for each insight remained statistically significant to support the analysis.

We designed the survey to give us data that wasn’t already available to us from regulatory returns or other sources.

We sent it to all firms whose primary activity is providing financial advice on investments to retail clients. It gathered information to fill our prioritised data gaps, where we believed firms would be able to provide responses reasonably easily. To enable analysis to be undertaken we extracted the submitted data at 1 December 2025, while there was a small percentage of firms that had not returned their responses at that date, they were not significant to impact the overall insights.

There are other firms that provide financial advice as an additional regulated activity to their primary activity, such as retail banks, mortgage brokers, insurance brokers and wealth managers.  We did not issue the survey to these firms, but we have counted their financial advisers within the 31,000 figure and included them in some analysis such as advisers in regions.

We tested the approach and questions through a pilot with 20 firms and developed it with feedback from industry bodies.

The report also draws on data from other sources, including regulatory returns, the FCA's Financial Lives survey, the FS Register and data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS). For regional breakdown of findings, we have used the International Territorial Levels classification of the 9 regions of England, in addition to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

---

9. Definitions

Terms and definitions for the purpose of the survey and analysis.

---

A firm with 5 or fewer financial advisers.

A firm with 6 to 49 financial advisers.

A firm with 50 or more financial advisers.

Individuals who give personal recommendations on retail investment products who are not broker funds.

Individuals who are level 4 or more qualified that support financial advisers in the provision of regulated advice.

Individuals supporting the financial adviser/paraplanner with administrative tasks.

As set out in the FCA handbook definition.

An active client that is either signed up for ongoing advice or has been provided with services such as advice, during the previous 12 months.

Clients with characteristics of vulnerability. We allowed firms to use their own definition of a vulnerable client. In practice vulnerability could (for example) be caused by a health problem, disability, bereavement, relationship breakdown, financial challenge etc.

The value of advised client investment and pensions assets, where the assets are covered by an ongoing advice service or where the client received one-off advice during the previous 12 months.

New money invested represents money invested or paid into a pension during the previous 12 months following advice.

We wanted to understand why the sector’s clients sought advice. Firms were asked to provide approximate percentages of their view of their retail clients’ primary objectives for seeking advice from their firm. The options given were:

• Saving for retirement
• Saving for another objective
• Consolidating pensions and/or investments
• Wanting to access pensions/investments to pay off loans or other debts or support family/friends
• Accessing pensions or investments at retirement/part retirement
• Inheritance planning

We wanted to understand more about firms' compliance oversight activity and the output of that activity, specifically file reviews. Reviews could be undertaken by the firm itself, such as its compliance or business assurance teams or a third party such as a compliance consultant. If the same client file was reviewed by both a third party and the firm’s own resources, we asked that this only be counted once.

We wanted to understand how firms interact with their clients. Mobile Apps or Websites could be interpreted broadly to include for example read only functions through to ability to give instructions on their advised assets.

---

Was this page useful? Yes No What can we do to improve pages like this? What did you find helpful? Submit Feedback