FCA promises simplified-advice rules with new Ombudsman case studies

The FCA will shortly publish updated rules intended to make simpler forms of financial advice less costly to provide, alongside case studies developed with the Financial Ombudsman Service. Deputy chief executive Sarah Pritchard set out the next step in a 20 October speech published the following day.[1]

For platforms developing narrower advice services, the examples should clarify proportionate suitability work. Pritchard wants firms to have greater confidence to innovate and reduce costs.[1]

The underlying March consultation, CP26/10, proposed combining the suitability requirements in COBS 9 and 9A and clarifying what information is sufficient for an assessment. It also proposed a single attitude-to-risk concept, proportionate assessments of customers’ ability to bear losses, and replacing annual suitability reviews with periodic reviews reflecting clients’ needs. Consultation closed on 22 May; these remain proposals pending the final policy.[2]

One proposal would clarify that a separate assessment of investment knowledge and experience is not always needed when the recommended product’s target market reasonably includes inexperienced investors. That is a product-and-customer-specific proposition, rather than a general permission to ignore suitability. The consultation also addressed ongoing service obligations and support for disengaged clients.[2]

Individual advice and targeted support

Targeted support is already a separate operational route. Authorised firms have been able to offer suggestions designed for groups sharing relevant characteristics since 6 April 2026. Applications opened in March, with permissions required for the activity.[3]

The Handbook requires firms to define consumer segments and assign a ready-made suggestion to each. Customers must be told the nature and limits of that support, including that it does not involve a more comprehensive individual assessment. A platform developing both services therefore needs to make the basis of each recommendation clear in its customer journey.[4]

Pritchard said more than a dozen firms had obtained targeted-support authorisation. The next publication will clarify the final simplified-advice requirements.[1]

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