Increasing advisers' average productivity with the use of technology and attracting young talent are the keys to narrowing the advice gap in the wake of declining intermediary numbers, according to Standard Life's Barry O'Dwyer.
The provider's managing director for adviser and workplace said the industry "can't just stick with an old face-to-face model" and should embrace the technology available to it. There has been a marked drop in adviser numbers since July 2012, six months before rules governing advisers' remuneration and business models following the Retail Distribution Review (RDR) came into effect. The most recent figures, accurate to 10 January 2014, show there are 31,220 practicing advisers, down 4.5% on the figure recorded a year ago and some 11% since the middle of 2012. The largest decrease has b...
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