Increase in numbers of adviser firms and advisers- APFA

The increase of around 6% brings the total number of both appointed reps and directly authorised firms to 14,550.

The number of advising staff working in Financial adviser firms increased to 23,640, an increase of 1472 on the figure for 2013.

The divide between direcly authorised and appointed representatives stood at 36% to 64%, a 1% increase for directly authorised, the third annual APFA report The Financial Adviser Market: In Numbers found.

The proportion of firms with limited liability as either a Limited Company or Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) remained unchanged compared to 2013, at 77% and 7% respectively.

Revenue per adviser increased from £99,345 to £107,116 while per firm it increased from £437,310 to £485,661 in 2014, compared to 2013.

The consolidated profit figures showed an increase in a year of £47m to £931m in 2014, before dividends which in smaller firms may be used to pay staff.

Volume of sales figures by personal investment firms from the FCA's data in the report showed protection accounting for 2% of sales, compared to 72% for pensions.

For the first time non-advised sales accounted for the majority of sales across all firm types, with 67% non-advised and 33% advised.

Chris Hannant, director general of APFA, said: "Two years after the Retail Distribution Review was implemented, the year to 2014 saw an increase in the number of advisers but it is still lower than before RDR.

"The number of firms in the market has remained stable despite the number of mergers and acquisitions. Turnover increased by 13% and profits before tax rose by 5.3%.

He added: "The data suggests a stable market despite the challenging volume of regulatory change.

"Pension reform highlights the need for advice, with the government and FCA making financial advice a key protection for consumers making decisions about guaranteed pension rights. 

"The obstacles to consumers accessing affordable advice remain such as the increasing cost of regulation."