Buying financial advice firms
IFAs, financial planners and wealth firms, with each firm checked against the FCA Register for its status, permissions and approved people.
Acquisition Engine12,794financial advice firms on the platform
Figures at 15 October 2026
Recurring income, and the advice behind it
An advice firm is valued on its ongoing advice fees, so the diligence list tests how much of that income is recurring, whether clients receive the reviews they pay for, and what past advice could come back as a complaint. 1,291 firms have been matched on the FCA Register so far, 1,087 of them authorised or appointed representatives.
Where these deals are won or lost
36 diligence requests in 9 sections, 18 of them rated high risk. Three of the high-risk requests, with the guidance shown on each one in the app:
Client-by-client income for the last three years: ongoing advice fees, trail commission, initial fees and protection commission, with the platform or provider each is paid through
Ongoing fees on assets under advice are what the buyer is paying a multiple for. Trail commission from before 2013 is declining and cannot be replaced, so it should not be valued like a fee.
Every defined benefit pension transfer or opt-out the firm has advised on, with outcomes, and any British Steel Pension Scheme cases
Defined benefit transfer advice has produced large redress bills across the advice market, including the British Steel redress scheme, and is commonly excluded from PI cover. Count the cases, read a sample, and price the exposure into the deal or keep it with the seller.
Professional indemnity insurance: schedule, limit, excess, exclusions, claims history and renewal date
Read the exclusions as well as the limit: they decide which risks are actually insured. For an advice firm, check pension transfer and investment exclusions in particular.
The full diligence list
Open a section to see its requests. Add, edit or remove requests on any deal.
Regulation 7
| R1 | FCA Register entry: firm reference number, status, permissions, any requirements or restrictions, and whether the firm is directly authorised or an appointed representative | high |
| R2 | Change in control: who in the buyer's group will acquire control, and the timetable for FCA approval | high |
| R3 | Senior Managers and Certification Regime: who holds each senior management function, the certified staff, and their fitness and propriety records | high |
| R4 | Correspondence with the FCA for the last six years: supervisory visits, information requests, skilled person reviews, notifications and any enforcement | high |
| R5 | Regulatory returns for the last three years (RMAR and any others) and the firm's capital resources requirement | medium |
| R6 | Consumer Duty: fair value assessments, outcomes monitoring, the annual board report and the action taken on it | medium |
| R7 | Client money: whether the firm holds or controls any, under what permission, and the last client assets audit report | medium |
Recurring income 7
| F1 | Client-by-client income for the last three years: ongoing advice fees, trail commission, initial fees and protection commission, with the platform or provider each is paid through | high |
| F2 | Assets under advice by client, platform and provider, at the last quarter end | high |
| F3 | Evidence that the ongoing service each client pays for was delivered: review meetings held, suitability updates issued, by client and year | high |
| F4 | Age profile of the client bank, and assets expected to be drawn down or inherited in the next five years | high |
| F5 | Platform and provider concentration, and any agreements with a discretionary fund manager or model portfolio provider | medium |
| F6 | Client concentration: the top 20 clients by income and their share of the total | high |
| F7 | Clients lost in the last three years, and the reasons given | medium |
Advice files 4
| D1 | Every defined benefit pension transfer or opt-out the firm has advised on, with outcomes, and any British Steel Pension Scheme cases | high |
| D2 | An independent file review of a sample of advice files across investment, pension and protection advice | high |
| D3 | Investment proposition: risk profiling tool, centralised investment proposition, due diligence on platforms and funds, and the last review of each | medium |
| D4 | Non-mainstream, unregulated or high-risk investments any client has been advised into | medium |
Complaints and PI 4
| K1 | Complaints log for the last six years, Financial Ombudsman Service cases and decisions, and redress paid | high |
| K2 | Professional indemnity insurance: schedule, limit, excess, exclusions, claims history and renewal date | high |
| K3 | Run-off cover for the seller and who pays for it | high |
| K4 | FSCS and FCA levies paid for the last three years, and any outstanding | medium |
Anti-money laundering 1
| A1 | AML risk assessment, client due diligence on a sample of clients, and financial crime training records | medium |
People 5
| P1 | Adviser and staff list: role, qualifications, Statement of Professional Standing, date of birth, salary, notice period and restrictive covenants | high |
| P2 | Which adviser holds which client relationships, and who has agreed to stay | high |
| P3 | Training and competence scheme, supervision records and annual certification of advisers | medium |
| P4 | Paraplanning and administration: who does it, in-house or outsourced, and on what contract | medium |
| P5 | Employment contracts, pension arrangements and any disputes or tribunal claims | medium |
Systems 3
| S1 | Back-office system, data quality, and what can be exported to the buyer's systems | medium |
| S2 | Cyber security, data protection, ICO registration and any data breaches | medium |
| S3 | Platform and provider agencies, and what is needed to move servicing rights and adviser charges to the buyer | medium |
Financials 3
| B1 | Accounts for the last three years and management accounts for the current year | high |
| B2 | Adjusted profit: owners' remuneration replaced by the cost of the people who will do their work | high |
| B3 | Bank statements for the last twelve months, borrowing, and the tax position including any open enquiries | medium |
Legal and property 2
| L1 | Client agreements and terms of business, and whether they can be assigned to the buyer | medium |
| L2 | Premises, supplier contracts, statutory books and any shareholder agreement | medium |
The first hundred days
28 actions, each with a target day counted from completion. These are the first eight.
Questions
Can we buy an appointed representative?
Yes, with care: an appointed representative trades under its network's permissions, and the client agreements and income may belong to the network. The first diligence request establishes what is actually for sale.
Does the list cover defined benefit pension transfers?
Yes. Past pension transfer advice is a high-risk request, because it is where the largest redress claims come from.
How is the FCA Register used?
Each firm is matched by company number, and its status, permissions, client-money permission and approved people are recorded on the firm.
Book a demonstration on your acquisition criteria
Tell us the region, fee range and type of practice you want to acquire. We prepare a target list against those criteria before the call, so the demonstration uses firms you could approach.