How do I choose a good lead generation agency for financial advice?
Last reviewed 22 April 2026 · Reviewed by Jake McQuillan
How do I choose a good lead generation agency for financial advice?
Check four things: (1) named FCA-regulated client case studies, (2) understanding of Consumer Duty and financial promotions, (3) offline-conversion tracking fluency, (4) willingness to be paid on pipeline not just form-fills. If any of the four is missing, walk away.
Choosing a lead generation agency for UK financial advice is primarily a compliance and attribution decision, not a marketing decision. The good agencies for regulated advice look different from general-purpose growth agencies.
Seven qualifying questions. First, have they run campaigns for an FCA-authorised firm in the last 12 months, and can they name the firm, the regulatory permissions involved, and the channels? Generic "we work with finance" answers usually mean mortgage brokers or protection only, not pensions or investments. Second, how do they handle financial-promotions sign-off, and whose approver number ends up on the creative? Any agency that expects you to approve ads without sign-off is creating regulatory risk for your SM&CR-accountable approver. Third, what is their verified account setup process for Google, Meta and LinkedIn financial certification? If they cannot articulate the three-step process, they have not done it before. Fourth, what attribution and reporting stack do they use, and can they reconcile CPL, MQL, booked-call, onboarded-client and retained-client at the channel and campaign level? Agencies that report only CPL and click-through are undershooting what regulated firms need. Fifth, what is their IP position on the landing pages, creative and audience lists they build for you, and what happens to those assets if the relationship ends? Sixth, what benchmark data do they use to set CPL targets, and is it their own or borrowed from a blog? Seventh, what is their case-study evidence for the specific niche you operate in, at the AUM and firm size comparable to yours?
A good agency will answer all seven directly. A less-good agency will deflect, generalise or offer a proposal deck in place of specifics.
Realistic monthly retainer ranges for regulated UK advice firms are £4k to £8k for mortgage and protection, £6k to £12k for general IFA, and £10k to £25k for HNW and pension-transfer specialists, plus media spend.
See the guide on choosing a marketing partner and the About page for Platinum Prospects' regulated-firm experience.