The Association of Professional Financial Advisers (APFA) has warned the regulator that consumers will be disadvantaged if the trend of shrinking adviser numbers is not reversed.
APFA director general Chris Hannant (pictured) asked the Financial Conduct Authority in a blog post to put measures in place to make running an advisory business easier, without lowering the standards brought on by the Retail Distribution Review (RDR). He warned that a further reduction in adviser numbers would fuel the advice gap and make it more expensive for those consumers that were able to access advice. Hannant said the regulator needed to establish conditions in which advisory firms could grow. He said: "Given there are 25% fewer advisers, one would naturally expect there to...
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