Mergers and acquisitions are continuing to drive change in the financial advice sector but acquirers are increasingly looking at consolidation, not aggregation, according to a new study.

The number of advice firms planning to launch their own in-house platform has levelled-off, according to NextWealth’s latest report into the trend.

Over 2 in 3 (71%) financial advisers report that fear of outliving their pension savings was the primary concern expressed by retirement clients, according to a new report.

In the next five years the financial advice sector will see small adviser firms thrive while the number of clients served will grow by 30%, according to predictions from wealth consultancy NextWealth.