The latest update from the Financial Advice Markets Review (FAMR) has been criticised by some in the industry for how little has happened.

The Financial Conduct Authority and the Treasury have today published a progress report on what has been achieved since FAMR was published in March 2016. The review was set up August 2015 in response to the low numbers of people taking financial advice since the launch of the pension freedoms.

The review aimed to explore ways in which the government, industry and regulators can take steps to stimulate the development of the market to deliver affordable and accessible financial advice to all.

Alongside the progress report, the Financial Advice Working Group, established as part of the review, has published three reports based on the review. Chaired by Nick Prettejohn the group was asked to work with employers to develop and promote a guide to the top 10 ways to support employees’ financial health.

It was also asked to publish a shortlist of potential new terms to describe guidance and advice with the final choice of words and approach to implementing them to be confirmed after market research and consumer testing. Finally, it was asked to lead a task force to design and test a set of rules of thumb and nudges.

Of the 28 recommendations FAMR set out, it has completed 10, has seven consultations underway and said it is on track with the remaining 11. AJ Bell senior analyst Tom Selby said it is hard not to feel “a little deflated at just how little has actually happened”.

“The new £500 pension advice allowance and increase in the tax exemption for employer-funded advice from £150 to £500 are useful, but this is tinkering at the edges rather than the radical reform promised at the outset. Indeed, many of the FAMR recommendations are simply about clarifying existing rules or providing guidance and ‘rules of thumb’. While these moves are of course welcome, we must not kid ourselves that this represents the onset of an advice revolution.

“The FAMR would benefit from some clear targets and deadlines so success can more easily be measured. Without this clarity of mission, the project risks drifting along and a huge opportunity to improve the advice market for savers will be lost.”

Hargreaves Lansdown head of policy Tom McPhail disagreed, as he acknowledged there is a lot of “detailed and dedicated” work in the report. He believes the working group’s rules of thumb provide “clear simple messages for all”.

“Above all, we want a financial services system which delivers accessible solutions for all investors, and which encourages them to make the most of their financial future without compromising on regulatory protections. Probably the most challenging area and the one most important to get right, is the boundary between advice and guidance: Investors need to be able to access cost-effective support whilst having absolute clarity about the nature of the service they are receiving.”

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