Why the UK advice market is about to widen
The FCA's Financial Lives 2024 survey confirmed a figure the profession already suspected. Around 15.8 million UK adults likely needed some form of regulated financial advice in the past year and did not get it. That is not a statement about demand shrinking. It is a statement about barriers holding demand back, and those barriers are finally being dismantled.
From 6 April 2026, the FCA's targeted support rules are live under policy statement PS25/22. Pension providers, platforms, and wealth managers can now apply for permission to make suggestions tailored to groups of customers with shared characteristics, rather than personalised recommendations. A provider can tell a cohort of customers that they might benefit from reviewing their retirement income, without that prompt meeting the definition of regulated advice. Alongside that, the FCA opened consultation CP26/10 on 25 March 2026, setting out proposals to simplify and consolidate the existing suitability rules under COBS 9 and COBS 9A, explicitly to reduce the cost of delivering full regulated advice for straightforward cases.
Some advisers are reading this as a threat. The reasoning is that simpler advice or targeted support will cannibalise the lower-complexity end of the advice market. That reasoning misses the direction of travel. Adviser qualification standards are not changing. Commission is not returning. What is changing is the pipeline. More consumers will be nudged towards action, more will realise that their situation is complex enough to need full advice, and more will begin a search for an adviser. The firms best positioned to capture that demand are the ones who are already easy to find and easy to engage with.
The next twelve months are about preparing the shop window. When a prospect receives a targeted support message and types "financial adviser near me" into Google that evening, the adviser whose website is visible, clear, and responsive wins the introduction. The adviser whose website offers nothing but a contact form with an office-hours response will not.
Key takeaways
- 15.8 million UK adults likely needed financial advice and did not get it in the past year (FCA Financial Lives 2024 Survey).
- The FCA's targeted support regime is live from 6 April 2026 under PS25/22, allowing providers to make group-based suggestions without providing full advice.
- The FCA published CP26/10 on 25 March 2026, consulting on simplifying and consolidating the pensions and investment advice rules to reduce the cost of advice delivery.
- Adviser qualification standards remain unchanged. The reforms are designed to widen access to advice, not dilute its quality.
- The advisers best placed to benefit are those whose websites are findable, clear about who they help, and responsive outside office hours.
Make your website ready for the new demand
Regulatory change nudges consumers into action. Action starts with a search. A website that loads fast, answers common prospect questions, and offers an instant way to start a conversation converts those searches into initial enquiries.
Read the full breakdown in the companion blog post on the closing advice gap. If you want your site to engage prospects the moment they land, try the free demo at chatifa.co.uk with 25 messages and no card required.