UK needs 5,000 extra advisers - Standard Life

The UK needs about 5,000 extra financial advisers to cope with the rising demand for retirement advice, research from Standard Life concludes.

The provider based its calculation on Office for National Statistics figures showing there are some 3.8 million 55-and-overs with at least £100,000 in financial wealth, but just 20,500 advisers to service them. Based on a 150-clients-per-adviser metric, Standard Life estimated the shortfall in the number of professional financial advisers needed to cater for this market currently stands at about 5,000. Figures from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) showed there were 20,453 independent financial advisers in the UK at the end of 2012. Standard Life head of adviser and investment ...