Advice consolidation: Reputation, regulation and a transforming market

Growth alone is no longer enough

Isabel Baxter
clock • 5 min read

Consolidation has been said to have ‘reshaped financial planning’, but the next phase of M&A may be defined less by who is buying firms, and more by how those firms are run.

That shift in focus comes as the Financial Conduct Authority released its consolidation review, which looked at how consolidator groups handle risks, governance, debt, and integration during and after acquisitions. The findings unveiled several areas with "greater potential for harm," including around group structures, incentives and the guarantees used to underpin group debt. For advisers, commentators have suggested that the implications of the FCA's review are significant, signalling that the focus for consolidators is no longer just about scale and succession, but now about reputa...

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