Financial Advice Industry Hub UK

What we know, and what we have not measured yet

Whito has not yet run an AI visibility study on investment advice firms specifically. The closest we hold is the mortgage adviser study above, from the same regulated population and the same August 2026 method, and this morning’s FCA register check on AI-recommended mortgage advisers.

One number we will not give you is a single adviser count. The FCA publishes 37,517 retail investment adviser posts for 2025 in its retail intermediary data, and separately around 31,000 advisers at more than 4,100 financial advice firms in its April 2026 advice firms survey. Those measure different populations and must never be blended.

The study worth running is whether the firms an AI engine names as financial advisers in a given city are authorised in their own right or appointed representatives of somebody else, because the FCA warns that consumers may be outside FOS and FSCS protection if an AR exceeds its principal’s permissions. That runs next and lands here first. The AI Visibility Index shows the method meanwhile.

Whito need-to-know for advice firms

• Authorised and appointed representative are not the same, and one sentence gets it wrong. An appointed representative carries out activities on behalf of a principal, and the principal agrees what the AR may do and is responsible for that business. A website saying we are authorised and regulated by the FCA when the firm is an AR is a factual misstatement, checkable in seconds on the register. The correct construction names the principal.
• The FCA’s own consumer warning is the sharpest thing in your sector. The FCA tells consumers that if an AR has gone beyond the activities the principal has allowed, you may not be protected by the Financial Ombudsman or the FSCS if something goes wrong, and to ask the principal to confirm what the AR has permission for. A directly authorised firm can say that plainly and let the reader draw the conclusion.
• Every page is a financial promotion. COBS 4.2.1R requires a communication or financial promotion to be fair, clear and not misleading, taking into account the nature of the client. COBS 4.2.5R says a feature must not be described as guaranteed, protected or secure unless the term is accurate and the necessary information is clearly communicated. That governs your homepage, not just your brochures.
• You do not need the section 21 gateway for your own marketing. The approval gateway introduced by PS23/13 bites when an authorised firm approves a promotion for an unauthorised person. Permission is not required to approve promotions from your own appointed representatives, within your corporate group, or for your own promotions. It does bite if you approve an unregulated introducer’s landing page.
• The Consumer Duty made your website testable. The consumer understanding outcome expects information that is clear, timely and accessible without jargon or misleading terms, tailored to customers’ financial literacy, and tested to confirm comprehension of key information. Tested is the word most small firms have never acted on, and it is an opportunity as much as an obligation.
• The FOS free-cases rule everybody quotes is out of date. There is no allowance of three free cases a year. FOS operates a £2,000 annual discount before case fees apply, with a maximum case fee of £680 for a business and £260 where a professional representative brings the complaint. FOS states most businesses do not pay any case fees.

Looking for an adviser instead?

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Whito is independent and companies cannot pay to appear in our guidance. This page is marketing advice, not regulatory, compliance or financial advice, and Whito is not a compliance consultancy. Check financial promotion and Consumer Duty obligations against the FCA Handbook and with your own compliance support before publishing anything.