What the consolidation of financial advice really means for clients.
The financial advice industry is being bought.
Not all of it, and not all at once — but the pace of consolidation over the past decade has been significant, and the direction of travel is clear. Private equity firms have identified financial advice as an attractive asset class. Recurring revenue, sticky client relationships, relatively low capital requirements. The investment case is straightforward.
What is less straightforward is what this means for clients.
When a firm is acquired, the adviser often stays. The brand may stay. But the ownership changes, the incentive structures change, and — over time — the culture changes. Decisions that were once made purely in the client’s interest now have to be weighed against investor return expectations. That is not a criticism of everyone involved. It is simply the nature of the structure.
At Alderley, we made a deliberate choice. We are independently owned. We answer to our clients and nobody else. We do not have investors who need a return, approved lists shaped by commercial relationships, or growth targets that have nothing to do with the quality of our advice.
At Alderley, we sit on the same side of the table as you. We screen and research fund managers thoroughly — and if one underperforms, we replace them. No loyalty to a house. No commercial relationship to protect. Just a straightforward responsibility to get it right for you. That is what genuine independence looks like in practice.
Tony Robinson / Founder
