The FCA today published a comprehensive report on the health of the UK wealth management sector based on a major survey of 400 UK wealth management firms.
The report highlighted a growing but changing sector, with many shifts over the past five years.
We’ve reported on the key survey results elsewhere - '10 biggest wealth managers have 89% of clients - but there are also lots of nuggets of useful information to take away. These provide a deep insight into the sector and we've rounded up some of the key findings below.
FCA Wealth Management Report - 10 Key Takeaways
- Wealth management firms in the UK serve more than 5.5m retail clients and manage almost £1 trillion of assets. There are 500 firms that manage investments, broadly unchanged since 2022. There are around 5,400 investment managers.
- The number of portfolio management clients has grown to 1.3m, up 20% since 2022. There are 4.2m execution-only retail clients. Clients using discretionary or advisory services typically hold around £650,000 compared with around £325,000 for execution-only clients. Around 29% of wealth managers also offer financial advice.
- Portfolio management clients are most commonly aged 50 to 69, while execution-only clients are more likely to be aged 30 to 49.
- The most common active portfolios have 60% to 79% in equities. The data suggests firms have shifted slightly towards lower-risk portfolios over the past two years. Between 2023/24 and 2024/25, the proportion of clients invested in portfolios with 80% to 100% equity exposure fell from 24.9% to 21.5%, while the proportion invested in portfolios with 40% to 60% equity exposure rose from 24.5% to 27.9%.
- The 10 largest firms by client numbers serve 89% of all clients, up 19% since the survey was first conducted in 2022.
- 41% of those surveyed plan to acquire another firm, increase revenue or grow their client base by more than 25% over the next two years. In contrast, 18% are considering winding down or selling all or part of their client base.
- The sector remains strongly relationship-led, with face-to-face contact still important for onboarding, supporting clients and client decisions but firms are making greater use of contact centres and digital channels for tasks such as investing, withdrawing funds and sending instructions.
- 13% of firms use in-house or third-party AI tools. Some 45% of firms were considering using AI in the 12 months following the survey
- More than 92% of firms outsource part of their business. This is most common for technology, trade execution, assurance and oversight.
- In 2024/25, 83% of portfolio management firms reported identifying at least one vulnerable client, up from 68% in the first survey. Around 36% of these clients had their services adjusted by firms providing tailored communications like documents in large font.
- Women hold 16% to 17% of investment manager roles and 17% to 18% of investment managers aged under 50 are female – compared with 11% to 12% among those aged over 50. The age profile of investment managers has been broadly stable over the past 5 years, with a median age of around 42 for women and 47 for men.