The Crunch That Finally Breaks the Advice Model

If you’re an adviser right now and you feel pressure…

You’re not imagining it.

You’re being squeezed.

From every direction.

And this isn’t a temporary wobble.

It’s structural.

Let’s line them up.

Crunch #1: Regulation Got Heavier

Consumer Duty didn’t “tweak” things.

It raised the bar.

Evidence. Justify. Document. Monitor.

Every client. Every year.

That costs time.

Time costs money.

And if you’re charging £600 a year on a £200k portfolio, you don’t have much margin for error.

Crunch #2: Big Institutions Smell Blood

Bancassurance is back.

The big balance sheets are rediscovering advice.

And when distribution and product live under one roof, scale wins.

If you’re a small independent firm, you’re competing against machines.

Crunch #3: The Perimeter Is Moving

Under the rules of the Financial Conduct Authority, more clients can now be classified as sophisticated or professional.

Which means fewer protections.

Which means less prescription.

Which means… the retail framework you built your firm around may not even apply to your future ideal client.

If your target market is drifting outside retail…

Why are you still architected like a retail intermediary?

That’s not rebellion.

That’s business design.

Crunch #4: Viability Thresholds Keep Rising

You know this one.

Quietly.

Minimums creep up.

£250k becomes £500k.

£500k becomes £750k.

Because serving sub-£200k profitably is hard.

You don’t advertise the threshold shift.

You just stop taking smaller clients.

But here’s the problem.

That middle market used to be your pipeline.

And Then Comes the One Nobody Can Ignore

The demographic crunch.

At a recent industry event, Ben Goss said something simple and devastating:

More clients are in their 80s and 90s than in their 40s.

Read that again.

Your revenue base is ageing.

Your assets are in decumulation.

Your future book is shrinking by design.

Now add this:

Two-thirds of portfolios are under £200,000.

Which means maybe £500–£600 a year per client.

And you’re expected to:

Deliver regulated advice
Evidence ongoing suitability
Carry PI risk
Maintain systems
Fund compliance

On £600.

If you can’t see the problem, your accountant can.

This Is the Last Straw

Regulation you can adapt to.

Competition you can differentiate from.

Technology you can adopt.

But maths?

Maths wins.

If your book is ageing…

And your average portfolio is modest…

And your minimums are rising…

Then your business is slowly liquidating.

It just doesn’t feel dramatic because it’s happening politely.

So What’s the Real Choice?

You have two options.

Option one:

Optimise harder.
Cut costs.
Raise minimums.
Serve fewer, wealthier, older clients.
Hope the inheritance stickiness works.

Option two:

Move upstream.
Build relationships before assets accumulate.
Engage people in their 30s, 40s and 50s.
Integrate human capital, career decisions, life transitions, business exits.
Become a Total Wealth Planner — not just an AUM manager.

Because here’s the punchline:

The future revenue isn’t sitting in your 85-year-old client’s drawdown plan.

It’s sitting in their 42-year-old daughter who doesn’t know you exist.

This Isn’t About AI. It’s About Architecture.

You don’t have a technology problem.

You have a model problem.

If your firm is built around:

Ageing clients
Sub-£200k portfolios
Rising thresholds
Weak next-generation links

Then the crunch isn’t coming.

It’s already here.

Here’s the Bridge

A Total Wealth Plan isn’t a product pitch.

It’s a structured, upstream engagement framework.

It helps people:

Clarify life direction
Map human capital
Model financial trade-offs
Design strategy before wealth peaks

You stop waiting for assets.

You start building relationships.

And when wealth crystallises — inheritance, business sale, career surge — you’re already trusted.

That’s how you stop managing decline.

And start compounding.

You Don’t Need to Believe Me

Experience it.

Use the Total Wealth Plan yourself.

Stress-test it.

See how it reframes engagement with younger cohorts and future wealth creators.

No product bias.

No lock-in.

No obligation.

👉 Register here and try the Total Wealth Plan for free.

Because if this demographic crunch is your last straw…

You don’t need another efficiency hack.

You need a different foundation.