Almost 50% of money and wealth managers surveyed by professional services firm EY confirmed or stated their intention to move operations to Europe from the U.K. as a result of Brexit.
The firm's latest Financial Services Brexit Tracker showed that, as of Nov. 30, 44% of 57 surveyed money and wealth managers, and 42% of insurers and insurance brokers, have or will move operations and/or staff out of the U.K.
Among all financial services firms, Dublin, Paris, Luxembourg and Frankfurt have proved popular destinations.
Since the referendum deciding on the U.K.'s future in the European Union in June 2016, 20 companies have announced a transfer of assets to Europe from the U.K. Of those that have stated this intention, five are money or wealth managers.
"In anticipation of the parliamentary vote in January, the City (of London) will be watching closely to see if the proposed Brexit deal will be accepted or whether it's back to the drawing board for the government," said Omar Ali, U.K. financial services leader at EY, in a statement accompanying the survey report. "As things stand, and per regulatory expectations, financial services firms have no choice but to continue preparing on the basis of a 'no deal' scenario."
The tracker monitors public statements made by financial services firms with significant operations in the U.K., covering banks, brokers, wealth and money managers and insurers.