The IFA market is going through a period of genuine change. Some of it is regulatory, some of it structural, and some of it has been building quietly for years. For firm owners, keeping track of all of it while running a business is no easy task.
Here is a straightforward look at the developments that are shaping the market right now, and what they might mean for your firm.
Targeted Support Is Now Live
April 2026 marked the launch of the FCA’s new targeted support regime, one of the more significant regulatory developments in the advice sector for some time. The regime allows authorised firms to make suggestions to groups of consumers who share common characteristics, sitting somewhere between generic guidance and full personal advice.
The stated aim is to help more people get meaningful support around pensions and investments without the cost or complexity of a full advice relationship. Whether it delivers on that ambition remains to be seen. What is clear is that the boundary between advice and guidance is being redrawn, and that has implications for how IFA firms position their services.
The FCA has also signalled a further consultation on simplifying its wider investment advice rules. For firms that have been waiting for greater clarity on where the lines fall, that process is worth watching.
The Advice Gap Keeps Growing
The Advice Gap Keeps Growing
New research from Boring Money puts the UK advice gap at 14.6 million people in 2026, up from 12 million the previous year. The main driver is a growing number of first-time investors who have taken steps into the market but have no professional support behind them.
This is both a challenge for the profession and, for well-positioned firms, an opportunity. The demand for good financial advice is not shrinking. The question is how the industry responds to it, and how accessible advice becomes for people who need it but currently cannot afford or access it.
Consolidation Is Accelerating
The structural shift in the IFA market has continued at pace. Over the past three years, the number of advice firms in the UK has fallen from around 6,280 to roughly 5,300, a drop of more than 15%. Adviser numbers, though, have held relatively steady, which tells you what is happening: smaller firms are being absorbed into larger ones rather than simply closing.
Private equity money has accelerated this process considerably. Consolidators are well funded, acquisitions are happening quickly, and multiples in some parts of the market remain strong. For firm owners who are considering their options, the current environment offers real choice, but it also means the market is moving fast.
Not every buyer approaches acquisitions in the same way, and the difference between a good outcome and a poor one often comes down to who you sell to and how well prepared you are when you do.
The Demographic Problem Is Not Going Away
The ageing profile of the adviser population is a topic the industry has been talking about for years, but the numbers are becoming harder to ignore. Only around 5% of authorised retail advisers in the UK are aged between 25 and 29. At the other end, the number of advisers aged over 60 has grown considerably. Close to 40% of planners could retire within the next decade.
This creates real pressure on succession planning and client continuity across the profession. It also means that for firm owners approaching retirement, the timing of any transition is worth thinking about carefully. The pool of internal successors is limited, and the market for external buyers, while currently active, will not stay the same forever.
What This Means in Practice
These are not abstract trends. They affect the day-to-day running of advice firms, the decisions firm owners face about their future, and the options available to them. The firms that tend to navigate this environment well are those that take a clear-eyed view of where the market is heading and make deliberate choices rather than drifting into them.
At Superbia Group, we work with IFA firm owners who are thinking carefully about their future in this market. Whether that means understanding what your options look like today, or simply getting a better sense of how your firm is positioned, we are happy to have that conversation.