Revealed: FSCS complaints cost each adviser 'obscene' £45k in six years

£1bn in complaints costs since 2010

Laura Miller
clock • 3 min read

Complaints about bad advice over the last six years have cost the sector nearly £1bn - the equivalent of £45,000 for every adviser in the UK, an investigation by Professional Adviser can reveal.

Since 2010 the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) - body of last resort for investors with complaints against firms that have ceased trading - has paid out £989m to deal with claims linked to investment, life and pensions advisers. The cost is then spread among advice firms that are still trading, collected yearly in the form of compulsory levies. Adviser numbers have fluctuated since 2010, but the Financial Conduct Authority's (FCA) latest figures put the population at around 22,000. If that figure is used as an average for the last six years, the cost of upheld claims aga...

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