FCA to raise adviser fees 10.2%

Firms in the A13 block, primarily mortgage brokers and general insurance advisers, will pay £74.9m in 2015/16, up from £68m in the previous year.

The regulator stressed that fewer than 3,000 advisory firms pay more than the minimum fee, contributing a total of £7.2m, or around 9.6% of the total amount levied.

Although smaller firms will pay the minimum fee only, this is set to increase from £1,000 to £1,084 - the first increase since 2010.

In a statement, the FCA said:

"We continue to believe that the 8.4% increase in minimum fees is proportionate as it ensures that firms who only pay minimum fees continue to make a fair contribution to the recovery of our costs."

The FCA also acknowledged that firms had raised concerns about the overall increase in its annual funding requirement.

Concerns included the increase being far in excess of the rate of inflation and on the back of significant increases over the last few years, and that the FCA’s ever-increasing cost base stands in stark contrast to the pressure to reduce costs that applies generally in both the public and private sectors.

The FCA said that the fees levied would go towards supervising firms and developing policy, and stressed that its strategy now places more emphasis on sector and market-wide analysis.

The regulator also said that the setting of fees needs to take into account other regulatory costs such as the capital adequacy and professional indemnity requirements placed on firms.