Good morning and welcome to your Morning Briefing for Tuesday 12 August 2025. To get this in your inbox every morning click here.
Industry heavyweights launch PE-backed consolidator firm
Two industry heavyweights have joined forces to launch a new IFA consolidator firm.
Absolute Financial Group is led by former CMS Wealth CEO David Carter and supported by the founder of Perspective Financial Group and Tatton Asset Management, Paul Hogarth.
The new firm, backed by funding from Inflexion Private Equity, is aiming to build one of the UK’s leading independent financial planning businesses.
Scottish Widows appoints intermediary wealth director
Scottish Widows has appointed Jenny Davidson as intermediary wealth director.
Davidson brings over 30 years of experience in financial services, growing adviser platform technology and strategies and leading high performing global teams.
She joins Scottish Widows from Quilter, where she has been proposition and commercial director since June 2022.
The Financial Lives Survey is a wake-up call
The FCA’s recently published Financial Lives Survey 2024 is rich with insights that should make everyone in the financial advice industry sit up and take notice, say Lee Coates and Elly Dowding.
As they unpacked in the latest episode of their Accord Talks podcast, this is not just a data set – it’s a call to action.
They are urging all advisers and financial professionals to not just read the Financial Lives Survey, but to act on it.
Quote Of The Day
The government are creating significant barriers for people to save responsibly for their retirement
-Caitlin Southall, director of SSAS transformation and proposition at WBR Group, reacts to the news IHT will apply to pensions pre-55
Stat Attack
The UK is on the brink of a financial crisis, with millions of children growing up without access to vital money management skills, according to new research by online savings platform Raisin UK.
It shows:
14 million
Estimated number of UK children left with little to no financial knowledge because financial education isn’t in the curriculum.
99%
of primary school pupils say they are unable to grasp basic financial concepts.
64%
of Gen Z respondents go to their parents for advice or information when making financial or investment decisions.
39%
of UK adults say they feel unconfident managing their finances.
91%
of Brits want better financial education in schools.
18%
of adults in their 50s wish they had planned and budgeted better for retirement.
Source: Raisin UK
In Other News
Utmost Wealth Solutions recorded £5.3bn in gross inflows in the first half of 2025, more than double the £2.6bn during the same six month period last year.
Net flows reached £2bn, helping total assets under Administration (AUA) grow to £107.1bn from £103.5bn the previous year.
This was driven by strong results in the UK and Europe as Utmost further consolidates its position in these markets following the acquisition of Lombard International.
Utmost Group CEO Paul Thompson said: “Utmost has continued to build on the growth that we experienced in the second half of last year to deliver a record breaking first half.
“This performance is a testament to the benefits of combining Lombard with Utmost, the capability of our teams and the clarity of our strategy.
“We have continued to execute with discipline, focusing on delivering robust long-term value and capitalising on broader macroeconomic trends.”
Global insurance brokerage and consulting services firm Gallagher has completed a £7.2m buy-in for the WCF Ltd Staff Retirement Benefits Scheme, securing benefits for the remaining 122 deferred members.
Appointed at the start of 2025, Gallagher acted as risk transfer broker, scheme actuary, and investment and administration consultant.
The deal was finalised with Legal & General in under five months, supported by BESTrustees as professional trustee and Eversheds Sutherland as legal adviser.
Mark van den Berghen, head of risk transfer at Gallagher, praised the “smooth, on-time” process, while BESTrustees’ Ann Rigby called it “a case study in collaborative, efficient delivery.”
UK economy shed jobs in July (Financial Times)
Treasuries have dozed off for the summer (Reuters)
Will Oasis worsen UK inflation woes? Definitely Maybe (Bloomberg)
Did You See?
Careers advice is so accessible when you are in education, writes Amanda Newman Smith.
Schools provide it to meet their legal or regulatory requirements. Sixth-form colleges and universities also run dedicated careers services.
But the need for careers guidance does not vanish once you have secured your first job in financial advice. So, where can early careerists get help with deciding what comes next?
