Directly authorised numbers fall as networks continue to attract advisers

‘The DA market is shrinking’

Isabel Baxter
clock • 3 min read

The number of directly authorised (DA) wealth advisers has fallen by 12.5% between 2020 and 2025 as more turn to joining a network instead, research has found.

Information collected from a recent Freedom of Information request, submitted to the FCA by Network Consulting, found that the number of all DA retail advice firms that operate in mortgages, wealth and or both has reduced overall by 18%, a total difference of 1,853 firms. Firms that hold both wealth and mortgage permissions by contrast have declined by 25% since 2020, the findings revealed. Wealth only firms have experienced a sharp drop of around 20% over the same period. Source: Network Consulting Network Consulting found that adviser numbers tell a slightly different story....

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