The network, now part of a new company, has since changed its business model.

But the challenges of legacy issues, and pre-RDR laxness when it came to advice, has not put off other contenders.

Large players still operate, with varying degrees of profitability; but smaller players are coming onto the scene, claiming to have a higher degree of compliance checking, and a higher bar for entry.

Personal Touch, for example, raised its fees, in an attempt to weed out the undesirables, while others claim to operate for certain niche players, such as high net-worth clients.

The challenge for networks is making sure they can present the best case for belonging – greater compliance support, training and research – while ensuring that they do not make membership too proscriptive.

Long-term members of networks will argue till the sun goes down that membership is the best business model in the world, but the networks have had to contend with serious competition from the support service providers.

Some consider the restrictions imposed by networks as being too onerous and prefer the freedom of being directly authorised, and the likes of Simplybiz and Bankhall have capitalised on this sentiment.

Ultimately, if networks can prove to advisers that they still have something to offer, while being scrupulous in how they recruit their members, then long-term, they may have a shot at survival.

Melanie Tringham is features editor of Financial Adviser