A third of this (£449m) came from selling non-investment insurance products.
Mortgage brokers reported total earnings of £1.31bn in 2018, up 13% from £1.16bn in 2017, data from the FCA shows.
A third of this (£449m) came from selling non-investment insurance products.
Revenue earned by intermediary firms increased in 2018 compared to 2017, continuing the trend seen in recent years. Revenue earned by mortgage, retail investment and non-investment insurance firms increased by 16%, 12% and 8% respectively in 2018.
Commission remains the dominant source of revenue for mortgage and insurance broking, accounting for 79% and 84% of revenue respectively. For retail investment business, commission accounted for 17% of revenue while fees/charges accounted for 80%.
The majority (96%) of financial adviser firms reported making a profit, with total pre-tax profits up to £872m from £698m in 2017.
A small number of large firms with over 50 advisers account for 70% of advisers working at mortgage brokers. Nearly nine in 10 firms have five advisers or fewer. Over six in 10 financial adviser and mortgage broker firms are required to hold only the minimum base capital specified for their type of business.
The total number of staff advising on mortgages was 14,052, up 7% on 2017, most of which was accounted for by the large firms.
Premiums paid in 2018 for renewal of professional indemnity insurance (PII) cover remained steady as a proportion of revenue, around 1.5% across all firm types. The smallest firms pay a higher proportion of their revenue at around 4%.
The proportion of revenue earned by financial adviser firms from restricted advice has been increasing relative to fully independent advice, up from 33% in 2016 to 37% in 2018.
