What the FCA's 2026 adviser survey means for your website
The FCA published its Financial Adviser Market Survey on 23 April 2026. The headline numbers describe a market that is steady on advisers, shrinking on firms, and stuck on reach. Around 4,100 firms responded, covering roughly 31,000 advisers and £1 trillion of assets under advice for 4.1 million clients. The number of authorised advice firms has fallen 15% since 2021. The same survey reports that only 9% of UK adults received regulated advice in the previous year.
That is the context independent IFAs are now operating in. Adviser headcount has held steady because consolidators keep buying smaller practices and absorbing their advisers rather than displacing them. The FCA expects a further 5% drop in firm numbers by 2028. The strategic choice is binary: position the practice to be acquired, or position it to compete in the long term as an independent.
For firms choosing to stay independent, the website is the front line. When a prospect types "financial adviser near me" into Google or asks an AI engine "how do I find a regulated financial adviser?", the result is decided in seconds. The firms that win are the ones whose sites name the adviser, publish fees, link to the FCA Register, and respond to enquiries in the first session. The 91% of UK adults outside the advised population are not absent. They are searching, asking, and hesitating. Most of them never get a useful answer.
A consolidator brand cannot compete on those signals. Their websites are designed to capture a name and route a call to a contact centre. An independent practice can answer the prospect's actual question while they are still on the page. That is the gap a small firm's website is built to close.
Key takeaways
- 15% fewer authorised UK advice firms since 2021, with a further 5% drop projected by 2028 (FCA, April 2026).
- 31,000 advisers remain steady across the market, because consolidators are absorbing acquired advisers rather than displacing them.
- 9% of UK adults received regulated advice in the previous year. The other 91% are searching, asking, and hesitating.
- Independents win the next enquiry by naming the adviser, publishing fees, linking to the FCA Register, and answering in the first session.
Read the full breakdown
The video covers the headline numbers. The companion blog post explains why firm numbers are falling while adviser headcount is steady, what simplified advice means for your website, and how the consolidator vs independent decision shapes every page.
If you want your own site to answer a prospect's first question the moment they land, try the free demo at chatifa.co.uk with 25 messages and no card required.