Different exit strategies open to intermediaries

ifas

Adviser businesses are under increasing pressure to sell up but current market conditions mean there are less buyers wanting to take a stake. However, other options are available.

Life has been tough for IFAs in recent times. Increasingly difficult trading conditions, the rising cost of professional indemnity (PI) cover and, for some, the inability to obtain it, the threat of falling commission rates and the regulatory burden on companies are all taking their toll. When you add in the uncertainty from depolarisation and the Sandler report, as well as negative press comments over the sale of endowments, split-capital investment trusts and, most recently, so-called precipice bonds, you can see why advisers' backs are against the wall. The IFA market has undergone...