APFA: Smallest advice firms' regulatory cost equals 20% of income

Carmen Reichman
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The smallest advice firms face the largest proportion of regulatory costs, with some paying up to 20% of their income, research commissioned by the Association of Professional Financial Advisers (APFA) has found.

The work, which was carried out on 74 adviser firms in Q2 this year, showed firms with an annual income below £100,000 face the largest proportion of regulatory cost, around 12% more than their larger counterparts. This is despite the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) regarding these smallest firms as falling "below the threshold" and levying them the minimum fee of £1,000. APFA found firms with an annual income between £100,000 and £250,000 pay around 19% of their income in regulation-related costs, while those with annual income between £500,000 and £1m pay 8%. Director general C...

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