The biggest change I have seen in 30 years is not RDR but the challenge getting an FCA licence post the Elizabeth Hale 2021 report into the LCF mini bond scandal. This has meant that since early 2022 any licence application that is not squeaky clean in all respect will be rejected. This has finally stopped free-wheeling IFAs and mortgage brokers taking their clients from one business to another. Existing businesses can finally build long term value with their licence, knowing that the rules are being applied consistently. Get kicked off a panel or fall out with your network or employer and you will struggle to ever get approved by the FCA again. Even non financial allegations of misbehaviour are terminal to your career (Odey).

The IFA industry is making more money than ever before. This is because the drawbridge is well and truly up. Regulation protects businesses from competition. Customers may feel aggrieved on a cost-benefit basis, but IFAs must operate under the government rules and standards. IFA businesses are protected with barriers to entry (regulation) that other industries regard with envy.

Compliance firms like IFAC are overwhelmed by enquiries for external file checking and auditing services in order to drive down risk and increase value. Stock markets, particularly in the UK, may never be as cheap again in our lifetimes, and by almost any measure, are lying at historic lows. Put this altogether and it is clear: there has never been a better time to be an IFA.