St James’s Place - one of the UK’s largest wealth managers with more than 4,700 advisers - has given a cautious welcome to the FCA’s ‘simplified advice’ proposals published today but warned that the boundaries between advice and guidance must remain clear to avoid consumers being mis-sold.

Artificial Intelligence technology (AI) can help solve the advice gap, a leading FCA executive has predicted.

Six in 10 financial advisers believe the Consumer Duty will increase the advice fees they charge and make the advice gap worse, according to a new survey.

Nearly 9 in 10 financial advisers offer independent rather than restricted financial advice, according to data published this week in the FCA’s Retail Mediation Activities Return (RMAR) report for 2022.