The latest research from ISS Market Intelligence (ISS MI), a leading provider of data and insights to the global financial services industry, has revealed that 9,317 individuals joined the FCA Register in the last six months of 2025.
The Landscape Report is a bi-annual deep dive into the firms and individuals in the FCA Register and Directory. The report explores the key metrics and trends shaping the landscape of the U.K. financial services industry.
The report reveals a slowing decline in the number of financial services firms, with a 1.7 percent drop to 69,385 active firms in H2 of 2025. The number of unique individual employees of financial services firms also reduced, by 1.2 percent, to 219,916 over the same period. The majority of firms deauthorised from the FCA Register were in Credit Broking.
Despite the overall decline in the number of financial services firms, the number of firms joining the FCA Register in H2 2025 increased to 3,331. Of the firms joining, 284 offer investment advice and 316 provide mortgage advice. This is a similar ratio as seen in H1 of 2025. The vast majority of individuals switching roles moved to similar types of firms, with 936 individuals transitioning from one investment advice firm to another. Additionally, 576 advisers moved between mortgage advice firms.
Benjamin Reed-Hurwitz, Head of Research Development, EMEA & North America at ISS Market Intelligence commented: “The financial services landscape never stops shifting. Staying on top of developments across different segments is challenging, yet it’s essential for sales and marketing teams that want to stay competitive. Many firms can find themselves missing out on valuable opportunities, such as new players entering the market, simply because they aren’t aware they’re out there.”
The report details varied growth rates between the 30 largest investment and mortgage advice firms in terms of their number of client-facing advisers. The number of firms increasing their adviser headcount was almost equal to those reducing them. The top five firms in the table remain in the same position (when compared with H1 2025).
St. James’s Place (SJP) continued to lead the adviser headcount table but lost 43 advisers in H2 of 2025. Openwork, with just over almost half as many advisers, slightly increased their adviser headcount by adding 16 new advisers.
Quilter Financial Services Limited (which added 789 advisers in H1 2025) added a more modest 28 advisers in H2 of 2025.
True Potential saw a small increase in adviser numbers in the period, while 2 Plan increased their adviser headcount by a small amount.
Reed-Hurwitz concluded: “With nearly 70,000 firms on the FCA Register, organisations need a clear view of each firm’s size, footprint, and offering. A strong grasp of the adviser landscape is crucial for driving effective sales and marketing performance. The Landscape Report is designed to cut through this complexity and give teams the insight they need to engage the right people at the right moment with the right solutions.”
Copies of the report are available to download from ISS Market Intelligence at: The Landscape Report.
