The FCA has revealed the criteria through which it will judge the success of FAMR.

The regulator this morning published its FAMR Baseline Report.

This identified three main themes to measure the development of the market:
• Accessibility
• Affordability
• quality of advice

These will be tracked on an annual basis and results will be published on the FCA website.

The baseline findings will be used as a benchmark to assess the outcomes of FAMR when conducting the review in 2019.

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The FCA report stated: “Having identified what measures of success are likely to feature in subsequent analysis, we recognise that FAMR is a package of proposals. So when we evaluate the outcomes of FAMR
in 2019, we will be looking at the overall picture presented by the indicators, rather than at the specific measures in isolation.

“However, some of the FAMR recommendations are still being implemented and it may be some time before any effects from these measures are apparent in the market. While FAMR is intended to create the right conditions to make the market for financial advice work better for consumers, its success depends on the actions of a number of different organisations, including the FCA, HM Treasury, the Financial Ombudsman Service and the financial services industry, and their continued cooperation and commitment.

“The success of FAMR also depends on the financial services industry taking up the opportunities provided by the measures taken.

“In addition, the consumer research findings indicate a significant lack of engagement with financial advice amongst consumers which developments in the industry may not necessarily address.

“It may also be difficult to attribute the causes of changes in the market, especially in the light of the significant environmental changes expected over the coming years (such as MiFID II implementation and Brexit).”

The FCA has also confirmed that the Post-Implementation Review of the Retail Distribution Review, scheduled for 2017, will now be combined with the 2019 FAMR review.

Officials said that this will “allow the market time to react to the regulatory change from both FAMR and MiFID II and also allow the FCA to make best use of its resources and minimise the reporting burden on firms”.