continues, the impact by the end of 2026 will be significant- for efficiency, capacity, client experience, and proposition design.
3. Consolidation tightening
Consolidators may become more selective, which means fewer off-the-peg exit options for advisers. The sector must respond by improving business-continuity planning, succession strategies, and early-stage exit thinking.
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Alongside those themes, the sector must keep bringing new talent into advice and into the wider profession. As older advisers exit and consolidation reshapes the landscape, nurturing the next generation becomes essential.
If I was asked about the advice landscape at the end of 2026, I would love to be able to say:
More consumers received support with their financial needs.
New advice models- personalised, simplified, targeted- created more routes into meaningful guidance and advice.
AI delivered real efficiency gains and improved client experiences.
Firms adapted successfully to a changing regulatory and commercial environment.
And ultimately, the sector became more diverse, more innovative, and more accessible.
From my perspective, that’ s what this transition period is about- not creating change for its own sake, but enabling better outcomes, for more people, in more ways than before.
10 | The Adviser Online