Complaints against advisers received by the Financial Ombudsman Service have been in decline since changes to the way they are handled were introduced.
Since July 2016, financial service firms have been given more time to resolve complaints less formally, with an increased three-day time limit to allow for better and easier resolution for a greater number of complaints before the aggrieved party resorts to the Fos.
But the Financial Conduct Authority has also required firms to send it all their complaints data so consumers can use it to shop around.
Data from the Fos showed the number of complaints against advisers between July 2015 and June 2016 was 2,385, which went down in the following year - once the new regime was in place - to 2,006.
Complaints for this year look to be even lower. So far in the period since July 2017 there have been 1,307 and if they continue at their current rate they will be less than 1,800 over the full 12 months to July 2018.
This appears to be an acceleration of a trend which was already happening before the changes came into effect.
The number of complaints against advisers between July 2014 and June 2015 was 2,849 meaning they have been falling for several years now.
The number of complaints being received by the Fos against advisers during this period - and in the near future - will have a wider impact on the sector than simple compensation payments, because of the Financial Advice Market Review.
In the review, the FCA ruled out the introduction of a 15-year long stop limitation period on complaints to the Fos because very few complaints actually fell into this category and an even smaller number were upheld.
But the regulator said that as part of the review of the FAMR in 2019, the FCA and HM Treasury would consider "any ongoing trends and the impact of the [Fos's] complaints data relating to advice on long-term products".
Keith Richards, the chief executive of the Personal Finance Society, said: "There should be little doubt that the trend of reducing complaints against advisers has contributed to the elevation of the sector into a profession where clients' needs are addressed on an individual basis, rather than via a formulaic sales process.
"The reliance on contingent transactions to generate commission has also had a positive impact by removing a conflict of interest. That being said, the professionalism, confidence and evolution of the sector are the main contributory factors.
"Whilst this evidence should provide the perfect landscape in which to re-instate a long stop, there is little regulatory incentive to do so - at a point in time when serious concerns are being aired about the unintended consequences of pension freedoms."
Dennis Hall, a chartered financial planner with Yellowtail Financial Planning, said: "Prior to pension freedoms the adviser community was doing OK but we might see that number of cases increase.
"There are some things out there in the marketplace that have yet to work their way through the system.
"I would be surprised if the FCA had not been looking at complaints data."
The FCA declined to comment.
damian.fantato@ft.com
