Short supply: What path will adviser numbers take?

The most recent figures on UK financial advisers released by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) were encouraging to those who had perhaps feared the onset of the Retail Distribution Review (RDR) would inspire many to leave the profession. The figures, taken from the end of December 2012 to midway through the year, showed there had been a 6% rise in the number of financial advisers operating in the UK - from 20,453 to 21,684. The news that the industry ranks had in fact grown in the immediate aftermath of RDR was a reassuring sign and was quickly followed up by news from the Associa...