Most adviser comments focused on the uncertainty of future costs, which often have to be passed onto clients with increased fees.
One comment, which Panacea said was typical of the majority, stated: “Stress and sleepless nights from [a] governing body who just wants to kick us in these difficult times. I honestly couldn’t remember the last time the FCA helped advisers.”
“Ridiculously high cost is threatening my business,” one said. “If the FCA did its job correctly the payments from the FSCS would be dramatically reduced saving firms a small fortune”.
Another said: “It does not help having to carry a greater reserve and it causes sleepless nights due to the randomness of a very high potential hit against the firm which is unpredictable.
“It means that we have to spend more on IT and compliance to try and mitigate.”
Box-ticking exercise
Elsewhere in the survey, 96 per cent of advisers said their firm pays all its regulatory fees on time, with only 1 per cent saying they did not.
Some of those that said they did not pay on time commented that they have had to take loans to cover the fees.
Advisers also said they believe that the FCA fee consultations are a box ticking exercise (79 per cent), with no advisers believing it to be a genuine exercise.
Panacea Advisers said this is “very worrying”, with not one single respondent thinking consultations were a genuine attempt at seeking out opinions and views that would be listened to.
One adviser said: “Whilst it would be nice to think we complete these things on a regular basis for a purpose because of the way we keep our accounts and deal with our income, the results the FCA get from us are almost meaningless unless they look over an entire year which I am fairly certain they do not”.
Another adviser said: “For most FCA consultations they have already made up their minds before consultation even takes place”.
Speaking to FTAdviser, an FCA spokesperson said: “We take all feedback we receive into account, for example the annual survey undertaken by our practitioner panels. We recognise that to meet our objectives we impose a burden on firms.
“We seek to ensure that it is proportionate – with the benefits outweighing the cost. We welcome responses to our consultation, which we consider carefully before taking our decisions.”
How is company morale?
| Response | Percentage of advisers |
| Very positive | 7% |
| Positive | 23% |
| Neutral | 35% |
| Negative | 26% |
| Very negative | 10% |
Overall, the survey revealed that 36 per cent of respondents said their company morale was negative or very negative.
One adviser said: “Everyone, employees and directors are faced with the same economic environment and factors.
