Mortgage News
Advisers’ Money Advice Service levy to drop 18%
Financial advisers will contribute £3.7m toward the Money Advice Service (MAS) in 2014-2015, a decrease of almost 18% on the previous year.
The MAS’s activities are split in two: the delivery of ‘money advice’ and the provision of ‘debt advice’. Advisers contribute to the former alongside all other regulated financial services firms, with banks and building societies funding the latter.
It allocates its levy depending on, among other things, how consumers use its four channels – online, telephone, face-to-face and in-print.
The total forecast budget for the service for 2014-2015 is £81.1m, split into £43m for the delivery of money advice and £38.1m for the co-ordination and provision of debt advice.
At £10.2m, banks will contribute the most towards the MAS’s money advice element.
The FCA has also proposed to keep the MAS minimum fee at £10.
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It follows news the government has agreed to an independent review of the MAS following pressure from the Treasury Select Committee.
FCA fees
Advisers’ fees for funding the FCA’s activities have also dropped, by 19%, following a realignment of its fee blocks.
Advisers will contribute £68m towards the regulator’s funding requirement for 2014-2015, down from £83.6m the previous year.