David Inglesfield: Consolidation doesn't have to mean disruption

Advice firm consolidation is a divisive topic. The staunchest critics consider the slew of recent acquisition activity to be bad news for the advice market and its customers. Others, however, feel consolidation is essential to the profession's evolution. But whichever side of the debate you are on, we must accept that consolidation is inevitable. A cursory glance at some industry numbers underlines why. As things stand, there are roughly 5,200 directly authorised advice firms in the UK, and the majority of these are small with between one and five advisers. In addition, the average ag...