How do you create a‘ shortcut’ version of full advice that is genuinely safe for both consumers and advisers?
The industry has become more data-led with increased governance requirements, more data capture, and more oversight. In many cases, the time saved through technology has been consumed by the additional regulatory work required. So, the net effect is that the number of people receiving paid-for advice hasn’ t materially shifted. However, on the positive side, technology and regulation have demonstrably also led to greater research capability and higher standards of accountability.
The second lever was increasing the number of advisers. Yet adviser numbers have also remained broadly static- around 30,000 retail investment advisers. We are, slowly, bringing new talent into the sector, but retirements are offsetting that growth, meaning capacity continues to remain tight.
In that context, it’ s entirely understandable that the regulator is exploring ideas to help more people access advice – as always, regulatory interventions aimed at broadening consumer engagement with advice are welcome. It goes without saying that, as a profession, we want more people to get the help they need.
The two most recent ideas from the FCA- simplified advice and targeted support- are both intended to do just that; facilitate advice more effectively to more people.
Of course, simplified advice isn’ t new. It’ s been discussed for many years, including in FAMR, more than a decade ago. The difficulty has always been the same: how do you create a‘ shortcut’ version of full advice that is genuinely safe for both consumers and advisers?
Full financial advice follows a process for a reason. You need to understand the client, their goals
and objectives, their current provisions, their wider circumstances. If you remove parts of that process, what do you remove? What is it safe to not understand?
You could, for example, focus on a narrow area such as retirement planning. But what if the client has significant savings elsewhere? What if they have other pension arrangements or property assets that materially change the picture? Advising myopically sits uneasily with the principle of holistic advice that underpins our entire profession.
I believe that’ s why simplified advice has historically struggled to gain traction. The core challenge remains- how do you make advice easier to deliver while maintaining the same safeguards and protections?
Targeted support is a more recent iteration of that line of thinking. The idea is that firms can go further than simply providing generic prompts. Based on the data they hold, they can recommend a course of action to a group of customers with similar characteristics.
Again, the intention is positive. If someone appears not to be saving adequately for retirement, nudging
April 2026 | 5