Laura Cornely is director and a founder of a new 'automated' financial adviser service trying to help bridge the advice gap and help advisers find new revenue. The company has been developed through the FCA's Regulatory 'Sandbox' scheme designed to help early stage companies develop their propositions. 

The last time a financial adviser rejected me, I was standing in my kitchen staring at an email that simply read: “Unfortunately, you’re not the right fit for our client base at this time.” Translation: You don’t have enough money for us. I had moved to the UK from Germany with a six-figure salary, a solid savings cushion and the reasonable belief that I should be able to pay someone for financial advice.

Yet adviser after adviser either declined, postponed, or quietly disappeared. I remember closing my laptop and thinking, how the hell is this the state of financial advice in the UK? If I couldn’t get help, what were the chances that millions of people with less patience or money could?

So, I decided to take it personally, saw it as an opportunity, and did what any mildly frustrated German might do: I built the financial adviser I was denied. That has become Count Finance, a service we believe is the UK’s first fully automated, FCA-regulated financial adviser.

Not a “robo-adviser." Not “guidance.” And definitely not some influencer whispering: “This isn’t financial advice, but…” Count gives real, regulated advice on budgeting, saving, investing, and tax optimisation in one app.

And before anyone asks: No, our advice engine isn’t AI. It’s not because I hate AI (well, at this point I mostly do), but because regulated advice has to be consistent and explainable. You can’t tell the FCA, “The model had a vibe.” Our system is deterministic, because AI "hallucinations" have no place in serious financial decisions.

Working With Advisers, Not Against Them

The truth is, I’m not here to replace financial advisers. I'm here to solve the problem that started my journey: the UK advice gap. When I got those rejections, I didn't just get annoyed; I did my research. The regulatory burden on financial advisers in the UK is immense.

The cold, hard truth is that it's simply not profitable for most advisers to onboard clients with less than £100,000 in assets. I'm not here to complain about that – I'm here to fix it. Not just for me and people looking for advice but also for financial advisers. Count cannot (and does not intend to) handle inheritance tax planning, complex offshore situations or whatever other needs a multi-millionaire client with multiple properties, including a holiday home in Marbella, might have.

What Count can do is solve two problems for IFAs:

1. Rejecting clients: Most advisers turn away 30-50 clients a year. That’s wasted marketing spend. Instead, we can look after them. We take on all the regulatory risk and share the revenue. The client gets proper advice, advisers get a new income stream and can still handle any complex cases later. Win-win, we think.
2. Easier Cases & Going Digital: We offer a white-label solution that automates client onboarding, Know Your Customer, and wealth-building for clients in the accumulation phase. Advisers keep the relationship, compliance is automated and clients get a modern app with a direct line to the adviser.

We’re here to help advisers become more profitable by finally making the "unprofitable" clients profitable and helping solve the advice gap at the same time. That’s our plan.

The FCA Sandbox: A Supervised Leap of Faith

Count currently operates inside the FCA Regulatory Sandbox – essentially, the financial equivalent of being supervised by smart, cautious parents. On a regular basis, we show them our homework: advice samples, decision logic, outcomes and back-tests. Being in the Sandbox allows us to provide both financial advice and investment services under close supervision while we work toward full FCA authorisation. It’s a rigorous process, but it gives us clarity, credibility, and it gives our partner and users the confidence that our systems are robust and fully compliant.

What’s Next

Count is live, and now the real scaling begins. We’re adding investment execution, expanding the team, and sharpening the product until it’s the most intuitive personal finance companion on the market. My ambition is simple: democratise regulated financial advice without dumbing it down or hiding behind jargon.

Millions of people need help. And for the advisers who want to help and want to increase their profitability at the same time, we’re happy to talk. And if Count annoys a few legacy players… Well, feel free to take it personally.

Laura Cornely is a director of Count Finance, a new 'automated' financial adviser service which has been developed under the terms of the FCA Sandbox. 

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www.count-finance.com