RDR spells end for 8% of advisers

Foster Denovo conducted a study of 100 advisers during August, and found that while 45 per cent think their business may contract or remain the same size for the foreseeable future, one-third have seen profit increases.

Roger Brosch, chief executive for the at Foster Denovo, said: “The sector has come a long way over the last eight months, but there is still some way to go.

“It is positive to see that more than a third of advisers have seen profit increases post-RDR, but it seems that it will be the most adaptable that survive and prosper in this new world.”

The poll came a month after the FCA announced that there were 32,690 retail investment advisers working in the UK as at July 2013 – a slight increase on December 2012, when there were 31,132 advisers counted by the then FSA.

Opportunities and challenges

39% Believe growth will come from working with affluent clients

32% Believe chartered status will help them win clients

51% Said compliance procedures were the biggest challenge

38% Cited time pressures as a frustration

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