personal finance

The UK’s Top 100 Financial Advisers


At a time when headlines about Brexit and tweets from Donald Trump, the US president, can move markets, savers want to be certain their money is being managed by the best people.

As the FT’s specialist publication for financial professionals, FTAdviser’s 2018 Top 100 Financial Advisers list uses data collated by our research partner Strategic Insight to provide a snapshot of some of the very best intermediaries working in the UK today.

This year’s ranking differs significantly from those produced by FTAdviser in previous years. Rather than being based purely on sales, the list now ranks firms by looking at other factors that are key to investors seeking the best person to assist them with their finances.

This year, we have considered the growth rate of the advisory businesses, the number of years of experience each business has managing assets in different economic and interest-rate environments and how highly qualified its advisers are.

We have considered a range of factors to rank each advice firm because the quality of a business isn’t reflected just by how much new cash it is bringing in.

Our approach produces a useful indication of some of the best investment advice firms assisting clients in the market.

This year, FTAdviser has scored businesses on how well they retain investors’ cash and we have checked outflows against inflows too.

In order to check how advisers manage their clients’ investments, our research partner Strategic Insight used data on net flows received directly from fund managers covering 88 per cent of the retail investment market plus 17 of the nation’s biggest investment platforms.

Consumers want advisers to find the best funds for their needs, so another factor we have added to the rankings for this year is whether investment vehicles being recommended by a business are those that generate best yield. The Top 100 Financial Adviser list factors this into where the business appears in our ranking. So, where an advice firm features on the list also gives some indication of how their assets under management naturally grew based on their smart investment choices.

In recognition of advice firms’ commitment to their professional development, they were also awarded bonus points for having earned top industry certifications.

As using raw numbers of financial advisers would simply benefit the bigger firms — and thus provide too much of a duplicate of the assets under management score — we have split businesses into quintiles based on number of CF30 designees (the Financial Conduct Authority’s definition of a professional able to carry out “controlled functions” for retail clients). Points have been awarded depending on which quintile the firm was in. While this still gives the advantage to the bigger firms, it is not as much of an advantage.

Clients also want to know that the adviser they see today will also help them through the financial ups and downs of tomorrow. This year’s list also rates businesses on their ability to keep advisers in their ranks.

Experience also counts, especially when uncertainty is greater than usual. The average Top 100 Financial Adviser firm has been in the business for 45 years — meaning they have managed money through at least five bear markets.

The average Top 100 Financial Adviser firm managed £2.6bn in assets, which is £44m (up 1.7 per cent) more than FTAdviser’s Top 100 firms last year.

We hope investors and intermediaries appreciate what we feel is the most comprehensive ranking of financial advisers currently operating in the UK based on what investors care about.

Emma Ann Hughes is the editor of Financial Adviser and FTAdviser.com

100 Top Financial Advisers
Rank Company Assets under management invested in retail investment funds 2018 (£m) Year founded
1 Tenet 2,900 1967
2 JLT Group 400 1960
3 Mazars Financial Planning Ltd 890 1940
4 Kerr Henderson Group 660 1962
5 Wilfred T Fry (Personal Financial Planning) Ltd 240 1898
6 Quilter PLC 29,000 1845
7 Raymond James Group 2,500 1962
8 Brewin Dolphin Ltd 10,000 1762
9 Foster Denovo 1,600 2005
10 Tavistock Group 570 1975
11 Wingate Group 300 1970
12 Beckett Investment Management Group 500 1988
13 Gibbs Denley Group 500 1990
14 Helm Godfrey Partners Ltd 410 1990
15 PI Financial Ltd 220 1991
16 Independent Financial Strategies Ltd 360 1983
17 Lovewell Blake Group 200 1858
18 Westminster Wealth Management LLP 250 2000
19 True Potential Group 690 2007
20 St. James’s Place Wealth Management Plc 97,000 2000
21 Harwood Wealth Management Group 1,200 2001
22 Ring Associates Ltd 310 2002
23 Legacy Private Wealth Ltd 290 1982
24 Canaccord Genuity Group 990 1950
25 Paradigm Norton Financial Planning Ltd 480 2001
26 Grant Thornton Group 300 1924
27 HFMC Wealth Group 210 1999
28 HSBC Bank Group 6,000 1865
29 Chantler Kent Investments 210 2004
30 Succession 1,500 1998
31 Joseph R Lamb Independent Financial Advisers Ltd 260 1970
32 Perspective Group 640 1980
33 Fairstone Group 2,500 2005
34 Validpath Ltd 280 2001
35 Hoyl Group 250 2005
36 Chadney Bulgin LLP 67 1993
37 Close Brothers Group 410 1878
38 Smith & Williamson Group 3,000 1881
39 Best Practice IFA Group Ltd 1,300 2003
40 UBS Group 2,800 1862
41 LEBC Group Ltd 240 2000
42 Lumin Wealth Management Ltd 270 2010
43 Lloyds Banking Group 8,500 1765
44 InPartnership 1,800 2000
45 Chase de Vere Group 2,000 1969
46 Lonsdale Services Ltd 430 2003
47 Pharon Independent Financial Advisers Ltd 91 1973
48 Central Investment Services (Scotland) Ltd 200 1973
49 Argyle Consulting Ltd 300 1997
50 Saunderson House 3,500 1968
51 Tilney Group 6,200 1836
52 N W Brown & Co Ltd 230 2000
53 Clayton Holmes Naisbitt Group 140 2008
54 Ludlow Wealth Management Group 29 1996
55 Punter Southall Group 910 1988
56 Portafina LLP 330 2009
57 Cullen Wealth Ltd 140 1998
58 The Private Office 540 2008
59 Balmoral Asset Management Ltd 76 1998
60 Chartwell Financial Services Ltd 200 1991
61 Wren Sterling Financial Planning Ltd 270 2014
62 Pannells Financial Planning Ltd 360 1989
63 Sense Network Ltd 1,300 2006
64 Barclays Group 2,900 1736
65 Advanta Wealth Ltd 250 2012
66 Attivo Group 170 2005
67 Sanlam Financial Services Group 1,500 1918
68 Skipton Group 860 1845
69 HFS Group 360 1986
70 Openwork 7,900 1999
71 Magus Private Wealth Limited 310 1998
72 Grosvenor Consultancy Ltd 330 1998
73 Smith & Pinching 130 1998
74 Hargreaves Lansdown Group 29,000 1984
75 Loveday & Partners Ltd 360 2013
76 KW Group 420 2011
77 Argent Wealth Ltd 120 2009
78 Principal & Prosper Holdings Ltd 11 2007
79 Calculis Financial Planners 210 2011
80 Network Direct Ltd 380 2009
81 LGT Vestra 470 2007
82 Clairville York Ltd 200 1987
83 MacKenzie Investment Strategies Ltd 170 2010
84 Lomond Financial Management 130 2016
85 Investec Group 7,600 1974
86 Beaufort Financial Planning Ltd 430 2012
87 Gee & Watson Wealth Management Ltd 320 1974
88 Asset Management Financial Advisers Ltd 59 1987
89 Lighthouse Group 1,800 2000
90 Skerritt Consultants Ltd 310 2000
91 Russell Ulyatt Financial Services Ltd 74 2003
92 Wade Financial Services Ltd 150 1994
93 Charles James Financial Planning Ltd 120 1984
94 Cumberland Place Financial Management 360 2002
95 Estate Capital Financial Management Ltd 95 2003
96 Wills & Trusts IFP Ltd 66 1992
97 Lowes Financial Management 210 1971
98 The Royal Bank of Scotland Group 3,200 1727
99 Creative Advice Ltd 87 2006
100 Moore Stephens Group 350 1984
Research partner Strategic Insight receives data directly from fund managers covering 88 per cent of the retail market. Fund manager data is further supplemented and enhanced with platform funds. The top 25 fund managers account for 87 per cent of retail assets under management and Strategic Insight received sales data from 22 of these investment houses. Seventeen platforms submit data to Strategic Insight, including 16 at fund and intermediary level. The 17 platforms supplying data are: Aegon Wrap, Alliance Trust Savings, Ascentric, Elevate, FundsNetwork, James Hay, Novia, Nucleus, Parmenion, Quitter Wealth Solutions, Raymond James, Seven IM, Standard Life Wrap, Transact plus Zurich & Starling.
Factors influencing the final score:o Assets Under Management invested in retail investment funds accounted for an average of 54 per cent of each adviser’s score. o Net-flow accounted for an average of 23 per cent of each adviser’s scoreo Years of service accounted for an average of 9 per cent of each adviser’s scoreo CF30 accounted for an average of 8 per cent of each adviser’s scoreo Retention accounted for an average of 3 per cent of each adviser’s scoreo Estimated performance accounted for an average of 2 per cent of each adviser’s score.

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