The Retail Distribution Review (RDR) and the Financial Advice Market Review (FAMR) are aimed at improving consumer outcomes from financial advice and guidance. The FCA is currently reviewing the impact of these initiatives on the market to date, and assessing how the market may develop, to ensure it meets consumer needs now and in the future.

The review includes the FCA surveying a selected sample of firms as part of its evaluation with two main purposes:

• to evaluate the RDR and FAMR; and
• to assess market trends and emerging risks within financial advice and guidance services.

The survey not only covers the operations and strategy of the retail arm of firms, but also encourages firms themselves to offer opinions on the future of the advisory market.  The FCA will also review data it already holds from firms’ reporting, and from FCA market studies and supervisory work.

The questionnaire is broken down into the following sections:

• Your Firm
  number of advisers, paraplanners and trainee advisers in the firm, along with age and experience, starters and leavers and business affiliations;
• Strategy
  range of business models active within the financial advice market, along with which sectors the firm is most active in and financial advice strategy;
• Future Plans, Technology and Barriers
  barriers faced by the firm in developing new advice and guidance services, as well as the opportunities and challenges presented by emerging technology;
• Retail Investments
  the current propositions for retail investment advice and guidance, including standard charging structures and sizes of pots typically advised on;
• Protection and Later Life Advice
  the current propositions for advising on protection and later life products, including advice charging.

The FCA will provide updates on its work later this year and expect to publish a final report in early 2020.