/Advice and planning

State of the Advice Nation 2025/26

State of the Advice Nation is the UK’s best insight into the advice profession, combining business and sentiment data and taking a role-specific look at the advice profession.

WHAT IS SOTAN?

Now in wave 8, State of the Advice Nation (SOTAN) is the UK’s best insight into the advice profession. It is a mandatory read for any business that wants to understand the advice profession, the challenges it faces and how best to engage with it.  

The founding principle of SOTAN has always been to represent the profession in all its nuance and complexity, rather than treating it as a single amorphous group labelled “advisers”. That principle remains firmly intact in Wave 8.

In SOTAN you’ll get insight into: 

  • How firms are feeling.
  • Role-specific insight.
  • Practical insight into the choices firms make whether that be technology, providers or investment construction.  

This year we continue to expand our work on paraplanning, reflecting the critical role paraplanners play within advice businesses and the growing interest from our readers in understanding that part of the ecosystem better. We’ve also broadened our exploration of attitudes towards those entering the profession, capturing views from across the full participant group.

Alongside this, we’ve extended our focus on Artificial Intelligence, a clear zeitgeist topic, with an emphasis on what AI actually means for the planning process, adviser workflows and client experience, rather than abstract hype. So, what is the profession telling us about the year just gone? You’ll have to read the report to find out…

HOW DO I GET SOTAN? 

There are two routes. 

I’M PART OF THE PROFESSION 

Then you should join over 1,600 of your peers on the lang cat panel of advice professionals. You’ll be joining new entrants to the profession, planners, operations directors, admin professionals, paraplanners and business owners. Every few weeks we run research projects and if you take part you get the full insight back. SOTAN is no exception. Join here

I WORK FOR A PROVIDER AND NEED THE BEST INSIGHT YOU CAN GIVE ME 

Then you need to get in touch with the insight team to learn how we can work together to support your business. We produce regular reports on the platform sector, regulatory framework, technology and much more.

We also offer Analyser, our research and due diligence tool that makes platform, DFM MPS and regulatory research painless. You should contact steven@thelangcat.co.uk to see how we can help. 

/ Additional reports

New Blood report 2026

Financial planning needs new blood. Yet as a career, that prospect appeals to very few young people today.

Q3 Platform market scorecard

The Q3 2025 version of our in-depth market analysis of inflows, outflows, developments, regulation and thematic deep dives.

Impact of poor service

/ White papers

The Impact of Poor Service

We provided the research for a report, in conjunction with Parmenion, which reveals how far short of expectations many adviser platforms are falling. The research found that over the last 12 months, 88% of advisers needed to apologise to at least one of their clients on behalf of a platform, and that poor service delivery from platforms impacts 91% of advisers every day.

Impact of poor service

/ White papers

The Impact of Poor Platform Service

We provided the research for a report, in conjunction with Parmenion, which reveals how far short of expectations many adviser platforms are falling. The research found that over the last 12 months, 88% of advisers needed to apologise to at least one of their clients on behalf of a platform, and that poor service delivery from platforms impacts 91% of advisers every day.

/ White papers

Answering the Call

Service means a lot of things to a lot of different people. It’s so subjective it can be hard to put your finger on. This paper aims to challenge the status quo and inertia that’s built up in the sector for many years.