Mark Stokes: To consolidate or not to consolidate?

Any adviser looking to consolidate their business into a larger entity is facing a complicated market right now. Who wants to sell to a big provider at a time when the regulator is looking hard at anyone shoehorning clients into vertically integrated propositions for no apparent client benefit? At the same time, at the smaller end of the food chain, some consolidators are deciding they do not want to buy firms outright but would rather take business into just one area - discretionary fund management, for example. Before deciding which option to take, a business owner needs to decide w...