New research from Succession Wealth reveals that the number of IFAs and wealth managers in the UK could fall by around 7% by 2022.
The research indicates that the increasingly stringent regulatory environment is the chief reason why many in the financial services sector are looking to sell their businesses. 51% of the IFAs and wealth managers surveyed said that this was a ‘very important’ factor for financial services businesses wanting to sell.
This is followed by 36% who said the same about the growing pressure on costs, and 34% who cited the increasing investment which is now needed to operate in such a heavily regulated infrastructure as a key reason for businesses wanting to sell.
Despite this potential fall in the number of wealth managers and IFAs, Succession Wealth also predicts a significant increase in the numbers of consumers who may wish to make use of wealth management services. It estimates that in the UK an average of 80 new millionaires will be created every day over the next five years – a total of 146,000.
