Sometimes a story can tell you a huge amount about the changing structure of the market and it comes from a very clever freedom of information request reported in Money Marketing. (The title is having a very good week.)
Applications for direct authorisation are on the decline, data obtained from the Financial Conduct Authority and seen by MM.
A Freedom of Information (FOI) request submitted to the regulator by Network Consulting founder and director Paul Day discovered there has been a 64% drop in DA application approvals in the past five years.
This is actually a pretty extraordinary change in the nature of the market. Perhaps a world of crisis has just become a little too harsh for going it alone.
Interesting to quote Day on this as well. He suggests the two main factors contributing to the fall are the introduction of the Consumer Duty and the changes to the application process, making it a more arduous process than it has been in previous years.
I wonder if consolidators as an increasingly lucrative option are playing their part as well.
The Financial Conduct Authority will be reviewing mortgage advice firms and will publish its view of good and poor practices, as FTAdviser reports.
There was a bumper December for house sales up 19% on the same month a year before according to HMRC figures as Mortgage Strategy reports.
FTAdviser does a very good analysis looking at the options available to help mitigate IHT due to the BPR rule changes.
Intelliflo chief Nick Eatock discusses how IFAs are embracing AI in terms of the delivery of financial advice, writing in Money Marketing.
Useful to know where other advisers stand on this?
Progeny’s former CTO Tim Thompson-Rye has warned that dinosaur platforms are in danger of going extinct during a panel discussion at the Empowering Advisers Through Technology (EATT) conference as Money Marketing reports.
Stephen Yiu, the manager of Blue Whale's tech-heavy Growth fund is weighing picking up more Nvidia despite record-breaking sell off as Citywire reports.
A bold move.
