We expect the FCA to publish the results early in 2026, and those findings will shape supervisory priorities for the year. Vulnerability, ongoing service, and governance all sit firmly in the frame, but the regulator may well take the opportunity to probe emerging themes across business models and client demographics, too.
Consolidation: A dominant force that isn’ t slowing down
Another defining theme of 2025 was consolidation. There has barely been a week- arguably barely a day- without a new acquisition making the headlines. Private-equity backed consolidators continue to scale aggressively, seeking assets, advisers, and recurring revenue.
I feel the sector is currently facing a strategic challenge. Consolidation obviously reduces the total number of advisory firms, and, as a result, it risks chipping away at diversity, competition, and consumer choice. That
alone explains why the FCA is increasingly focused on consolidation, particularly the impact on client outcomes when firms are absorbed into larger groups.
Exit planning is also a major contributor. Many advisers still leave succession too late, which means their eventual options narrow quickly. In practice, this pushes more firms into the arms of consolidators, often at the point where urgency outweighs strategy. That’ s precisely why the regulator is concerned- in some cases, clients may be shifted into new pricing structures, propositions, or investment approaches that benefit the acquiring firm more than the client.
The FCA’ s Consolidation Review this year was clear on the risks, especially for highly leveraged businesses growing at speed. This is likely to be an active supervisory area throughout 2026- and one that firms should be proactively preparing for, whether or not a sale is on their horizon.
Technology, AI, and the changing shape of advice
If consolidation was the most visible trend, AI was the most transformative. Over the past 12 months, we saw incredible development across AI-driven solutions: operational optimisation, client-experience tools, automation of administrative tasks, data analysis, suitability drafting, and more.
But the sheer volume of innovation presents its own challenge. Dozens of providers, countless tools, each impressive in isolation- yet adopting the wrong one creates cost, duplication and inefficiency. This is the reason we established a Fintel-wide AI Steering Group this year. There will not be one AI strategy; there will be many, depending on the needs of different parts of the business and different adviser journeys.
The real test for AI will be whether it can finally unlock the efficiency gains that other technologies have promised but never truly delivered. Despite a decade of digital transformation, adviser capacity today looks remarkably similar to ten years ago. For various reasons- increased regulatory demands, changes in working patterns, or the time needed to deliver higher-quality experiences- efficiencies haven’ t yet translated into serving more clients.
AI should change that. Whether through reducing costs, increasing capacity, simplifying advice journeys, or enhancing personalisation, AI has the potential to make meaningful improvements not just for advisers, but for consumers navigating complex financial decisions.
The key word here is personalisation. Advice is increasingly being reframed around personalised journeys- where vulnerability is simply one of many factors shaping how a client should receive support. AI can support that personalisation, but it cannot replace human judgement in delivering it. The future is hybrid, not automated.
Looking ahead to the rest of 2026
If 2025 was a year of groundwork, 2026 will be a year of implementation- developments moving out of theory and into practice.
I expect three major themes to dominate:
1. Targeted support, simplified advice, and the rise of new advice models
The FCA’ s interventions in these areas will start to take shape next year. This could diversify the types of support available to consumers, expanding provision beyond traditional full advice.
2. AI acceleration
Every month this year has brought a new improvement in AI capability. If that trajectory
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