A petition calling for an independent review of the regulation of financial advisory firms and the FSCS is closing in on 500 signatures.
Paul Beasley, the managing director of Richmond House Group, started the campaign after a discovering a 320% increase in the fees it pays to fund the FSCS.

The Stevenage-based advice firm launched a petition, with Mr Beasley saying he was compelled to share his ‘outrage’.

He said: “In total we have been invoiced £53,000 of which £37,000 is in respect of the FSCS for life and pensions. This compares with £8,500 last year, representing a 320% increase in rating.

“In total, we now pay £47,500 to the FSCS to clear up other people’s mess. This is more than we pay for our own Professional Indemnity cover.

“This huge increase in the FSCS levy creates additional pressures and further diminishes our ability to deliver an improved client experience.”

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He has called for a complete overhaul of the FCA and FSCS and believes smaller independent businesses need a “lighter touch supervisory regime, a more proportionate approach”.

He said: “The principle of the FSCS levy is fundamentally flawed and inherently unfair. The size of the FSCS levy does nothing to increase consumer confidence.”

While his firm can afford the rise, many smaller firms will struggle, he said, adding that it could spur advisers to exit the profession because “it is increasingly difficult to make a living”.

He said: “The publics’ ability to source financial advice will be further diminished and advisors will continue to seek out the wealthiest investors, disenfranchising the mass market. Financial advice will be increasingly concentrated in the bigger firms that historically have provided inferior service and been the main source of demand on the FSCS.”

He urged other advisers to back his campaign “before it is too late”.

He said: “We have relied for too long on others to represent us and it has been a dismal failure. We need to collectively educate the FCA before they drive us out and deprive our clients of the first class service they currently receive.”

See the petition HERE.