The U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced Friday that it’s expanding the scope of its Advice Unit beyond the investment industry and into mortgage, insurance, and debt advice. The unit will also now accept firms as members that want to provide clients with guidance instead of regulated advice.
The FCA established the unit, part of FCA Innovate, in 2016 to provide feedback to firms developing automated advice and discretionary investment management models. This followed a recommendation from the Financial Advice Market Review (FAMR), which was published last year, setting out recommendations for improving the functioning of the advice market.
“The Advice Unit’s initial work, including the support it has provided to firms, has shown its potential and the changes announced today present a further opportunity to widen consumer access to financial advice and guidance across a broader range of sectors,” says Christopher Woolard, executive director of strategy and competition at the FCA, in a statement.
The FCA also published a report Friday that measures the development of the advice market in terms of accessibility, affordability and the quality of advice. These metrics will be tracked on an annual basis and the baseline findings published Friday will be used as a benchmark to assess the market in a follow-up review that’s scheduled for 2019.
That follow-up review will include an examination of regulatory reforms that were adopted in 2012, known as the Retail Distribution Review (RDR), which included measures to eliminate third-party commissions, tougher professional standards on advisors and higher disclosure requirements.