Independent vs restricted financial advice: what is the difference?
An independent adviser must consider a sufficient range of products from across the market without bias; a restricted adviser is limited to certain providers, products or types of advice, and must tell you so.
Both are FCA-authorised and charge in similar ranges: in 2025 the mean standard ongoing rate was 0.5%–0.9% for independent firms and 0.4%–0.9% for restricted (FCA retail intermediary market data 2025, Table 26).
Where the labels come from
The labels were introduced with the Retail Distribution Review from 31 December 2012, and the rules are in COBS 6.2B. A firm may describe its advice as independent only if it considers a sufficient range of relevant products that is "sufficiently diverse" and its recommendations are "unbiased and unrestricted". Any other advice is restricted, and the firm must say so in writing before it advises you.
What restricted can mean in practice
- advice on a limited range of providers, sometimes a single one;
- advice on one area only, such as pensions but not investments;
- advice from a firm that uses its own products or funds.
Restricted is a description of scope, not a judgement of quality. What matters is whether the scope suits what you need, and whether you understand it before you agree to pay.
How to check
Ask the firm directly, and read its services and costs disclosure. You can confirm that a firm is authorised, and see its permissions, on the FCA Register. Our check an adviser toolkit walks through it.
Related definitions
- Adviser charging (RDR)
- Fee-only adviser
- Adviser charge
- Suitability report
- IFA / independent adviser in the jargon decoder
Sources
- FCA Handbook, COBS 6.2B — Describing advice services (independent and restricted)
- FCA, Retail intermediary market data 2025 (published 23 July 2026)
- FCA Financial Services Register
General information only, not regulated financial advice or a personal recommendation. FinancialAdvisor.co.uk is not authorised or regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Figures are labelled with their source and date; they describe the market, not any firm, and are not quotes. Spotted an error? Report it and we will correct it.