FCA intervention leads to 19% dip in appointed representatives
The FCA said it has introduced changes through new rules and guidance to improve principals' oversight of their ARs and raised ARs' standards.
The regulator's annual report for 2022/23, published last week, found that there were about 35,000 ARs operating at the end of the period.
This figure has dropped by 19% over time from 43,000 in 2020.
No mention of Odey or Woodford in FCA annual report
The FCA said it has introduced changes through new rules and guidance to improve principals' oversight of their ARs and raised ARs' standards.
While complaints for both 2021 and 2022 show an improved position for firms, ARs still generate more complaints than non-principal firms overall, the FCA said.
Furthermore, the regulator's supervisory interventions between July 2022 and 31 March 2023 have seen principal firms ending relationships with 153 ARs and 618 investment advisory representatives (IAR).
The FCA said: «Our FCA and practitioner panel survey 2022-23 showed that 56% of principal firms surveyed think oversight of ARs by principal firms in their sector has improved.
»Improving principals' understanding of their obligations is central to our strategy. We have written directly to over 3,000 principals to outline our new rules. We also have collected new and comprehensive data covering over 35,000 AR/IAR."
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