Find out more about our research into the development of a market that delivers affordable and accessible financial advice and guidance.
Show FAMR baseline report (PDF)[1]
FAMR was launched jointly by HM Treasury (HMT) and us in August 2015 to explore ways in which government, industry and regulators could take individual and collective steps to stimulate the development of a market that delivers affordable and accessible financial advice and guidance to everyone.
In its final report[2] in March 2016, FAMR set out a series of recommendations intended to tackle the barriers to consumers accessing advice and guidance. As part of the implementation of those measures, the report recommended that the FCA and HMT should work together over the next 12 months to develop an appropriate baseline and indicators to monitor the development of the advice market. These should then be tracked on an annual basis and published on our website.
We have identified a range of indicators that are intended to give us a snapshot of the market for financial advice and establish a baseline. The indicators include measures of consumers' use of advice and guidance (the 'demand' side) and measures relating to the provision of these services (the 'supply' side).
The baseline will enable us to monitor developments in the market and assess at high level the impact of the FAMR recommendations when conducting a review of their outcomes, planned for 2019.
The FAMR Baseline Report is supported by two pieces of consumer research:
Show Qualitative research to inform the FAMR baseline (PDF)[3]
Show Quantitative research to inform the FAMR baseline (PDF)[4]
Who this applies to
Our report will most be of interest to:
- firms providing advice on or distributing retail investment products and financial instruments to retail clients
- trade associations and consumer groups involved in retail investment markets
- employers and trustees who wish to provide financial help to employees and members without the need to be regulated
Next steps
A full review of the outcomes of FAMR will be carried out in 2019 and the results published early in 2020. Some sources of the indicators are already available on a regular basis, such as the Financial Lives Survey, our Retail Mediation and Activities Return (RMAR) and complaints data. Other sources, such as qualitative research, will be rerun on an ad hoc basis.