'Rigorous and time-consuming': Has the FCA made it harder for advisers to become DA?

Professional Adviser gathers views about the process

Isabel Baxter
clock • 8 min read

With regulatory scrutiny ever increasing, Isabel Baxter explores if it has become more difficult for advice firms to become directly authorised…

Generally, there have been arguments in the industry that there are a lot of advisers who want to become directly authorised (DA) but due to the difficulty of doing so, they opt for the appointed representative (AR) route. Professional Adviser speaks to advisers who have done both to gather views on each process and if the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has ramped up the pressure. David Kneale Financial Management IFA Alex Lane recently went through the process of becoming DA. "I'd say the process was more rigorous and time-consuming than I initially anticipated," he shares with...

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