Ah, Abraham Okusanya. A man of many talents and, it seems, a lover of complex financial dance routines. The latest shuffle in the financial advice market has left many of us wondering whether to give him a hearty pat on the back or just raise a sceptical eyebrow. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has reported a slight dip in adviser numbers and revenues, a trend that doesn’t bode well for the little guys in the industry. The biggest players are under scrutiny thanks to the consumer duty fee-for-service review, but the real story is the slow and steady exit of smaller firms, who are being squeezed out by commercial pressures and a regulator seemingly intent on thinning the herd. After all, fewer apples make it easier to spot the bad ones, right?
Enter FNZ, a company that knows how to read the room. Spotting a shrinking market, especially among smaller advisers, they’ve decided to cash in their chips and offload their stake in Timeline for a tidy £10.2 million. Smart move, considering they lost the platform deal to Seccl, a smaller rival. You can almost hear FNZ muttering, “Well, if you can’t beat them, sell to someone who might.”
But let’s not get too carried away with congratulating FNZ. The real head-scratcher here is the new buyer: a highly leveraged investment company that’s betting the farm on Timeline’s continued exponential growth, despite the obvious negative market drivers. It’s as if they haven’t noticed the proverbial storm clouds gathering on the horizon.
And what about Timeline? Could there be a plot twist on the horizon? Maybe they’re planning to tap into the fickle Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) market. But then again, isn’t this just another asset-hoovering play by small IFA firms? You know the drill: grow AUM with propositions that promise higher returns for lower prices. It’s the financial advice equivalent of a game of musical chairs. The question is, who’s going to be left holding the bag when the music stops?
Perhaps the most intriguing part of this whole saga is how it might all end. Will Timeline shareholders be the ones left holding the assets? And what will Octopus have to say when the dust finally settles? It’s almost worth grabbing some popcorn and settling in for the show.
In the meantime, let’s all give a nod to FNZ for playing their cards well. As for the new owners of those Timeline shares—best of luck, mate. You’re going to need it.
Academy of Life Planning 