Wheatley: Drop in adviser numbers is a concern

Martin Wheatley, the chief executive of the FCA, has admitted to concerns about some of the effects of the RDR on the adviser community, and said the regulator will look into the reduction in the supply of advice for lower earning customers.

At a Treasury Committee hearing this morning, Wheatley (pictured) said a reduction in numbers of advisers in the retail space was a concern and the FCA was aware that some people below a certain portfolio threshold were not getting the same level of service as before RDR. There are several thousand fewer advisers operating in the UK today compared with three years ago, though recent figures suggested numbers were replenishing somewhat. Wheatley admitted "the professionalisation of the industry was a success" and the "removal of product bias was a huge success" of RDR. However he ad...