The FCA and PRA’s latest review of the Senior Managers & Certification Regime (SM&CR) signals a clear shift in regulatory direction. The regulator is not stepping back from accountability. Instead, it is trying to reduce operational friction and administrative duplication while maintaining strong governance and individual responsibility.
The FCA’s latest consultation paper CP26/10 is another clear signal that the regulator is continuing its shift toward a more flexible, outcomes-based advice framework, underpinned by Consumer Duty and supported by smarter, data-led supervision.
For many UK financial services firms, regulation is still approached as a cost centre or operational burden. Increasingly, that is the wrong lens. Regulation is becoming a competitive differentiator, particularly in the age of data and AI.
In January ’26, Model Office were lucky enough to be selected to participate in the FCA inaugural AI Lab Supercharged Academy. Thirty two AI firms coming together with the excellent support of Centre for Technology and Entrepreneurship (CFTE) for a ten week immersive programme which has contributed to some the most important stages in the evolution of our RegTech business.
FCA review: consolidation in financial advice and wealth management – what firms need to do next
At the Consumer Duty Alliance Conference Manchester, Nick Hulme, FCA’s Head of Department for Advisers, Wealth & Pensions Supervision, highlighted that the regulator sees their 2025 advice market survey as serving a dual purpose: supporting the regulator’s supervision and policy work, while also enabling firms themselves to benchmark their business models, advice processes and outcomes against peers of a similar size and profile.
The FCA’s consultation on simplifying advice rules is a structural reset for the UK advice market. It is not a dilution of standards. It is a move toward clearer, more proportionate regulation, with Consumer Duty as the anchor.
The recent NVIDIA keynote set out a clear direction for AI. The key message is simple: the industry is moving from building models to running them continuously in real-world use.
Governance, risk and compliance (GRC) frameworks are becoming central to how UK financial advice firms’ networks and support services demonstrate accountability. For FCA directly authorised firms, restricted advice firms and principal firms overseeing appointed representatives (ARs), regulatory expectations increasingly require structured governance supported by clear oversight and independent internal audit.
The recent HMT consultation on reform of the Appointed Representative (AR) regime signals that the structure remains under close scrutiny. While the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has already strengthened its supervisory framework through PS22/11, HMT is clearly testing whether further structural reform is required to address harm within principal–AR models.