Adviser numbers are down and firms' profits after tax, despite a temporary recovery last year, are lower than the two previous years, according to research from the Association of Professional Financial Advisers (APFA).
According to the trade body's annual report The Financial Adviser Market: In Numbers, 2013 saw adviser numbers drop from 23,865 to 22,790, while income across all regulated products grew from £3.78bn to £3.83bn. The real increase in productivity per adviser was even higher than 1% in the first year since the Retail Distribution Review (RDR) because of the fall in adviser numbers. The figures show that firm revenue increased from around £738,000 in 2012 to £760,000 in 2013 while earnings per adviser jumped from £158,000 to £188,000. Profits before tax rose from £163,000 per firm in ...
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