Nearly 300 investment advice firms added to FCA Register in H2 2025

A total of 284 investment advice firms joined the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Register in the second half of 2025, analysis from ISS Market Intelligence (MI) has shown.

The financial services data and insights provider’s Landscape Report explored the metrics and trends shaping the UK financial services sector.

It highlighted a slowing decline in the number if financial services firms, falling by 1.7 per cent to 69,385 active firms in the second half of last year.

The number of unique individual employees also fell, by 1.2 per cent to 219,916 over the same period.

ISS MI noted that the majority of firms deauthorised from the FCA Register were in credit broking.

Despite the overall reduction in the number of financial services firms, 3,331 firms joined the FCA Register in H2 2025.

This included 284 firms offering investment advice and 316 providing mortgage advice, a similar ratio as seen in the first half of 2025.

ISS MI said that vast majority of individuals switching roles moved to similar types of firms, with 936 individuals transferring from one investment advice firm to another.

“The financial services landscape never stops shifting,” commented ISS MI head of research development, EMEA and North America, Benjamin Reed-Hurwitz.

“Staying on top of developments across different segments is challenging, yet it’s essential for sales and marketing teams that want to stay competitive.

“Many firms can find themselves missing out on valuable opportunities, such as new players entering the market, simply because they aren’t aware they’re out there.”

The report also showed the client-facing adviser growth rates of the 30 largest investment and mortgage advice firms, with the number of firms increasing their adviser headcount almost equal to those reducing them.

St. James’s Place continued to lead the adviser headcount table with 5,153 advisers, although they lost 43 advisers in the second half of 2025.

Openwork was second with 2,871 advisers, adding 16 in H2 2025, while Quilter Financial Services, which added 789 advisers in H1 2025, increased its headcount by 28 advisers in H2 to total 2,058.

“With nearly 70,000 firms on the FCA Register, organisations need a clear view of each firm’s size, footprint, and offering,” Reed-Hurwitz stated.

“A strong grasp of the adviser landscape is crucial for driving effective sales and marketing performance.

“The Landscape Report is designed to cut through this complexity and give teams the insight they need to engage the right people at the right moment with the right solutions.”

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