Inducements probe casts shadow over IFA M&A deals

Under many historical merger and acquisitions (M&A) deals, one IFA business or consolidator buying another advisory firm paid a multiple of fund-based renewal. Part or all of the payout is often conditional on the IFA moving its assets onto the consolidator's platform, or into their investment proposition. However, Harrison Spence Partnership said this perceived incentive to transfer assets, particularly into the acquirer's own investment proposition, is something the FCA views as an inducement which encourages churning. Strategic partnership models will have the same dilemma, it a...