FCA to increase adviser fees by 10

The UK Financial Conduct Authority has outlined plans to increase the adviser regulatory levy by 10% to reach nearly £75m.

FCA to increase adviser fees by 10

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The figure, which was released in the UK regulator’s consultation paper on its finding requirements for 2015/16, is 10% higher than the £68m it levied in 2014/15.

The FCA’s overall funding requirement has increased by £35.2m to reach £481.6m from £446m last year.

This increase is due to all A fee-paying blocks having to pay 8.5% more due to increased FCA staff and IT costs.

It also covers the new costs of Pension Wise, a guidance survey for post-pension reform retirees. Despite initially predicting that the service would cost advisers £35m, this was recently revised by the Treasury to £39.1m.

Despite the overall rise in the levy, the FCA said 38% of regulated firms will continue to pay the minimum fee which will increase to £1,084 from £100, the first increase since 2010.

The UK’s finance industry’s compensation scheme, the Financial Ombudsmen Service, will take £23.3m of the regulator’s total budget while the Monetary Advice Service (MAS) will take £79.1m.

The MAS’ budget is the same as last year, but because the energy and water industries are voluntarily contributing £2m to debt advice the amount levied on financial services firms will actually be 2.5% lower than 2014/15.

FCA chief executive, Martin Wheatley, said: “These proposals seek to share the cost of being regulated and ensure the FCA has the right resources in place to deliver appropriate protection for consumers and make markets work well.”
 

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