Armchair Critic: Financial Advice Market Review - will it be man or machine?

Industry needs to respond to market movements

clock • 4 min read

In his first appearance this year, Professional Adviser's Armchair Critic Brendan Llewellyn reflects on diminishing numbers of advisers and whether automated solutions (and lower level qualified advisers) will enter the industry...

The Treasury - leading the Financial Advice Market Review (FAMR) - is concerned that mid to low-resourced consumers do not have access to advice. Unsaid, but understood, is that low access to advice means people are unlikely to make decent financial provision, either in savings or protection. On top of that the government, having just opened the retirement doors of freedom doesn't want lots of people using their freedom to do the wrong thing. The crux of the matter is that there are not enough advisers to provide a service for anything other than a small affluent minority in the UK. ...

To continue reading this article...

Join Professional Adviser for free

  • Unlimited access to real-time news, industry insights and market intelligence
  • Stay ahead of the curve with spotlights on emerging trends and technologies
  • Receive breaking news stories straight to your inbox in the daily newsletters
  • Make smart business decisions with the latest developments in regulation, investing retirement and protection
  • Members-only access to the editor’s weekly Friday commentary
  • Be the first to hear about our events and awards programmes

Join

 

Already a Professional Adviser member?

Login

More on Regulation

Regulators urged to hold pension transfer 'bad actors' to account

Regulators urged to hold pension transfer 'bad actors' to account

Advisers report ‘widespread and sometimes extreme delays’

Sahar Nazir
clock 24 November 2025 • 5 min read
FCA bids to save firms £100m a year with transaction reporting changes

FCA bids to save firms £100m a year with transaction reporting changes

Aiming to reduce costs and improve quality of data

Isabel Baxter
clock 21 November 2025 • 1 min read
Government to reconsider rejection of Waspi compensation

Government to reconsider rejection of Waspi compensation

Rethink does not guarantee that financial redress will be awarded

Jonathan Stapleton
clock 12 November 2025 • 3 min read