Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) plans to ease investment advice and fund reporting rules after its busiest stretch of rulemaking, aiming to reach underserved consumers and reduce costs for asset managers.
FCA Deputy Chief Executive Sarah Pritchard outlined the agenda in a speech delivered Oct. 20. The regulator published a draft of her remarks Oct. 21.
More than a dozen firms have permission to provide targeted support under rules that took effect April 6, Pritchard said. The service lets authorized firms suggest actions to consumers grouped by common characteristics. The FCA estimates that about 23 million consumers are underserved by existing advice and guidance services.
The FCA has said some firms hesitate to give specific guidance because they fear crossing into regulated financial advice. Consumers may be charged for targeted support, or firms may cover its cost through other parts of their businesses. FCA rules require the service to offer fair value.
Research cited by Pritchard tested hypothetical choices rather than actual purchases. In an online study by The Investing and Saving Alliance and the University of Nottingham, 4,719 UK adults divided a hypothetical £10,000 between savings and investment options. Among participants who had never invested, those given support tailored to their attitudes allocated 53% more to investments than those given no support.
The FCA is also preparing simplified-advice rules. For firms giving ongoing advice on business covered by MiFID II or the Insurance Distribution Directive, it proposes tying the frequency of suitability reviews to clients’ needs and circumstances instead of a fixed annual schedule. The regulator aims to publish the rules in the fourth quarter of 2026, with case studies developed alongside the Financial Ombudsman Service.
A separate package of proposed asset-manager reforms could save firms £128 million a year, the FCA estimates. Simpler fund reporting would account for a large share of the savings. The regulator says differences among current reporting requirements make the data it gathers less consistent.
Pritchard also called for cooperation against financial crime. UK Finance recorded £221.5 million in losses from investment-related fraud involving payments authorized by victims in 2025, up 40% from a year earlier.
The fund-reporting consultation closes Oct. 22. The FCA expects to publish final reporting rules in the first half of 2027.
