On 14 January 2020, and further to its July 2019 update, the FCA updated its dedicated webpage on its evaluation of the Retail Distribution Review (RDR) and the Financial Advice Market Review (FAMR).
The FCA outlined that is has commissioned qualitative research on how consumers react with the advice market, and has received c.300 responses to the industry survey it sent out in August. Its next steps are to continue to analyse this data and assess whether there are any gaps between the products and services firms are offering and what consumers need and want. It is also planning to work with other organisations and stakeholders to understand the impact technology has had on the market and the potential for it to help meet current and future consumer needs. It also wants to explore further the potential for new services to emerge in the market - both alternative advice services and unregulated information services.
Other than confirming the widening of its work, no clear next steps (or timescales) were forthcoming.
This article was written by Anna Davis.