Key takeaways
- Owners decide, but compliance can veto, so treat it as a buyer.
- Network members often use the network's approved suppliers; directly authorised firms choose their own.
- The FCA Register shows a firm's status before you write.
- Proof that you support the firm's obligations comes before features.
Who decides what an advice firm buys
The owner or managing director decides, with the compliance officer and the operations or paraplanning manager shaping the choice. In a small firm the owner may also be the compliance officer; in a larger wealth management firm, a head of compliance, a COO and an IT lead each have a say.
Speak to each about their own work. Owners think about client service and capacity, compliance about evidence and file reviews, operations about how the tool fits the back office.
How do networks and directly authorised firms buy differently
Directly authorised firms hold their own FCA permissions and choose their own suppliers. Firms that are appointed representatives of a network work under the network's permissions, and the network often decides which tools its members may use.
That gives you two routes. Sell to directly authorised firms one by one, or win approval from a network's proposition or compliance team, which can open many member firms at once but takes longer.
Why does compliance proof come first for advice firms
Compliance proof comes first because firms are accountable to the FCA for how they treat clients and handle their data. Consumer Duty, the FCA's rules requiring firms to deliver good outcomes for retail customers, makes firms look closely at any tool that touches client communication or advice records.
Explain where client data is held, how records are kept and how your product helps the firm evidence its own process. Do not claim it makes them compliant; confirm what you can say with your adviser.
How do you find and size IFA firm prospects
Find IFA firm prospects by combining the FCA Register with a company search. The register confirms a firm's status and permissions; firm websites show the number of advisers, the services offered and whether the advice is independent or restricted.
Size matters for what you sell. A one-adviser firm buys like a sole trader; a multi-office wealth manager has committees, procurement and a longer cycle.
What should you say to wealth management firm decision makers
Say how your product saves adviser or paraplanner time without adding compliance risk. Wealth management decision makers weigh every change against the review it will need, so show you have thought about that review.
Be precise and calm. Advice firms are trained to distrust exaggerated claims, and they apply the same standard to vendors as the FCA applies to them.
How to find financial adviser firm leads, step by step
Decide first whether you are selling to networks or to firms directly.
- Choose your route: directly authorised firms one by one, or networks that approve suppliers for members.
- Check firms on the FCA Register for status and permissions, and size them from their websites.
- Find the owner, the compliance officer and the operations manager at each firm.
- Lead with how your product supports the firm's obligations and record keeping, in plain terms.
- Prepare written answers on data handling before the compliance officer asks for them.
Where Pebbles Ai fits
- CapabilityProspecting & customer recordsFind owners, compliance officers and operations managers by role and location at up to ten named advice firms a run, as contacts in the Pebbles Ai CRM, labelled Beta, with work emails where found.
- CapabilityResearch & analysisAn assistant can read a firm's public pages and summarise its services and advice model, with numbered citations you can check before you write.
Common questions
What is the difference between an independent and a restricted adviser?
Under FCA rules, independent advice considers all relevant products across the market, while restricted advice is limited to certain products or providers. Firms state which they offer.
Are US financial advisers regulated the same way?
No. In the US, registered investment advisers register with the SEC or their state regulator, under different rules, so adapt the compliance angle for US firms.
Can you email advisers at their firm address?
Generally yes for corporate addresses, with your identity and an opt-out, under PECR and UK GDPR. Some small firms are sole traders or ordinary partnerships, where stricter rules apply.
About this page. Written by the Pebbles Ai team for people who run sales, marketing and growth. Last updated .
