Why regulator is so keen on robo-advice - Rory Percival

‘Promoting effective competition’

Victoria McKeever
clock • 3 min read

Speaking at this year's Distribution Technology (DT) conference, former Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) technical specialist Rory Percival explained why the regulator has endorsed the growth of the automated advice market.

When then-chief executive Martin Wheatley stood in front of an audience at Bloomberg in May 2014 announcing the FCA would make it a priority to help advisers innovate their business models to reach the middle market, not everyone in the industry was convinced. Since then a lot has happened. The definitions of advice have been reworked to make it easier for firms to recognise the regulated boundaries, and the regulator introduced a so-called "advice unit", allowing firms to trial disruptive ideas. Then, in September, the FCA announced eight 'large-scale' robo-advisers were on the cusp ...

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