FCA halves adviser guidance guarantee levy as other fee blocks pay more

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) plans to cut the adviser guidance guarantee levy by 50% and has announced tougher standards on the bodies tasked with delivering guidance to the public.

The FCA said in a consultation paper out today it acknowledges advisers are less likely to benefit from the guidance guarantee than other firms such as life insurers and therefore should have to pay less. The regulator said it received 117 responses to its provisional levy proposals published in July, which included a proposal for advisers to pick up 30% of the total levy, and an equal distribution among five fee blocks. The FCA has now settled on the equal distribution model, which will see advisory arrangers, dealers and brokers pay for 12% of the levy, while the other four fee bloc...