The number of appointed representatives continued to fall in 2024/25, according to the latest data from the Financial Conduct Authority.

At the end of February 2025 there were 2,571 principals with 33,839 appointed representatives. This represents a reduction of 190 principals (7%) and 410 appointed representatives (1.2%) over the year from February 2024.

The number of appointed representatives in investment management and pensions/retirement income both fell slightly with 1040 in investment management and 1372 in pensions/retirement at December 2024 respectively (December 2023: 1098 and 1539 respectively).

The number of appointed representatives in general insurance and protection continued to fall, from 7950 in December 2023 to 7359 in December 2024, a fall of 7%.

The sector with the largest increase in appointed representatives was consumer finance, with 358 additional representatives, an increase of 2%.

In 2024, appointed representatives generated £11.1bn regulated revenue. Of this, £2.4bn came from ARs whose principals are mainly retail investment firms, £3.6bn from insurance firms and £2.3bn from consumer finance, of which £709m was from mortgage broking.

They also generated a further £27bn of non-regulated financial services revenue. Of this, £9.1bn came from wholesale financial markets, £8.5bn from consumer finance and £7.4bn from general insurance and protection.

The FCA has recently been focusing on the appointed representatives market.

In September the regulator said standards of regulatory practice among appointed representatives (ARs) are improving but there is “more to do.”

A recent review by the FCA found that too many firms take only a ‘tick box’ approach to supervision of ARs.

Tougher AR rules were introduced in 2022 following concerns that many regulatory problems were due to poor practice among ARs.

In December the regulator proposed switching its fee for principal firms of appointed representatives (ARs) and introducer ARs (IARs) to a variable fee from a fixed one. The move would “better reflect” the costs it needs to recover from firms, the regulator said.

It currently charges a flat fee of £289 for an AR and £87 for an IAR.

Under the variable fee model, all firms typically pay a minimum fee but larger firms pay a variable fee on top, the regulator said.