SimplyBiz Group has announced that its membership numbers now stand at 2,500 firms and an estimated 6,000 advisers.
Group joint managing director Matt Timmins said the business support provider had seen an influx of advisers moving away from networks.
He said: “It’s been a challenging start to the year for advisers, especially with regards to compliance and regulation.
“The first quarter of 2015 saw as many regulatory consultation papers and pieces of finalised guidance from the FCA as the whole of 2014.
“In addition, the realities of pension freedoms, auto-enrolment and preparation for the sunset clause mean that advisers have a lot on their collective shoulders at the moment.
“Rather than just hunkering down and waiting for the regulatory load to lighten, many advisers instead seem to be taking this as an opportunity to make sure they have the right compliance support in place.”
Earlier this year, Mr Timmins said two-thirds of the advisers joining SimplyBiz came from networks – mainly Financial Ltd and Sesame.
In April, it was alleged that SimplyBiz was contacting Sesame advisers following the announcement the network would be closing in order to poach them.
Adviser view
Scott Gallagher, an adviser with Leicestershire-based Rowley Turton, said: “No doubt SimplyBiz has had a spin-off benefit from what has happened with Sesame.”
