Following the release of the Money Advice Service's (MAS) year-end results this morning, the body's chief executive has said it will actively look to foster partnerships with advisers over the coming 12 months.

The number of customers using the Money Advice Service (MAS) is up 62% from 1.2 million in 2011/12 to 2.1 million in 2012/13, according to full-year results released today.

The custodian of ex-Merchant Capital structured products, Reyker Securities, has said it will levy charges on about 12,000 people invested in the schemes.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has charged two men with promoting and marketing an unauthorised investment scheme.

Sue Lewis has been appointed chairman of the independent Financial Services Consumer Panel and will take up the post on 1 July.

The Co-op's decision to pull out of the deal to acquire the 632 'Project Verde' branches from Lloyds has many consequences, some of which read across to the advice industry, according to Sense Network commercial director Steve Young.

Aviva is to stop offering direct investment and protection advice for its customers from 31 May.

Financial adviser Richard Bishop has decided to move out of regulated advice and adopt a non-advised model because he said fees and ad-hoc levies have become unmanageable.

Aviva UK proposition, strategy and development director Paul Goodwin is leaving the provider as part of the restructure announced last week.

More than a quarter of advisers say their experiences in the period leading up to rule changes introduced following the Retail Distribution Review (RDR) were "the toughest of their lives", a new report suggests.