Reference Case Number: FOI2026/00250
Freedom of Information: Right to know request:
Please provide the number of firms authorised to provide financial planning advice for the 2025 calendar year.
Full details of your request can be found at Annex A below.
FCA response:
Our response can be found in the table below.
Annex B
| Year | Number of firms authorised to provide retail investment advice# | Number of Retail Investment Advisers | Number of firms that became authorised to provide retail investment advice in the year | Number of Retail Investment Advice firms whose permissions were cancelled in the year (no longer authorised firms) | Number of firms who removed retail investment advice permissions but remained authorised firms |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 5,616 | 38,426 | 59 | 400 | 125 |
The number of firms that held the following permissions with the customer type “Retail (Investment)” at any time during the year:
- Advising on investments
- Advising on P2P agreements
- Advising on pension transfers and pension opt-outs