Why the 'independent' model is worth fighting for

Until fairly recently, the provision of financial advice in the UK was almost a cottage industry with smaller firms of IFAs providing local advice to the local community. Advancements in technology and communications were always going to bring about a change to this advice model but more recently, changes to regulation and the associated costs and pressures have made it difficult for smaller IFAs to continue to operate. This has resulted in many IFAs joining one of an increasing number of ‘consolidators' offering a ‘plug and play infrastructure' enabling advisers to continue, albeit a...