The number of retail investment accounts opened in the last three years has slumped to just over a tenth of its peak.

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.

The FCA has provided more details of what its ‘simplified advice’ or financial guidance proposals may look like if implemented.

The FCA is planning to open the door to millions of consumers receiving ‘financial guidance’ on their personal finances which stops short of regulated financial advice.

Britain’s top 100,000 taxpayers saw their average income and capital gains tax bills surge by 18% in one year, according to a Freedom of Information request.

Platform and SIPP provider AJ Bell has reported strong growth in revenue and profits in its results for the year ended 30 September published today.

Managed Portfolio Service assets are growing faster on average than the platform market and costs and charges for clients are falling, according to a new report by a wealth consultancy.

The Financial Ombudsman Service expects British Steel Pension Scheme cases to fall in the coming year amid an expected plateauing in investment and pensions complaints.

The Financial Services Compensation Scheme, the government-backed body which compensates clients of failed regulated firms, has confirmed that it declared six financial services in default over the past two months.

Nearly a third (32%) of over-55s have deferred their retirement plans since the Coronavirus pandemic began in early 2020.