FCA Launches Mills Review on AI Future On 27 January 2026, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) launched the Mills Review to explore the long-term impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on UK retail financial services, inviting industry and stakeholder input on how AI could reshape the sector by 2030 and beyond. The review, led by Sheldon Mills, seeks feedback across four key themes: Future evolution of AI technology – including autonomous, agentic and multimodal AI systems,

FCA Finalises Rules for New Advice Regime The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has finalised its new “targeted support” regime, designed to close the UK’s long-standing financial advice gap. The framework allows authorised firms to provide regulated recommendations to groups of consumers with shared characteristics, without carrying out a full individual suitability assessment. Targeted support sits between generic guidance and full personalised advice. The FCA’s aim is to m

FCA warnings on selling complex products The FCA has warned that a number of firms are not meeting expected standards when selling complex investment products to retail investors. Its review found weaknesses in how firms assess investor understanding, define target markets, and communicate risk. In particular, disclosures are often overly technical and fail to explain clearly how features such as leverage, volatility, or daily resets can impact outcomes. While some firms have

Summary — Regulatory Outlook for 2026 As we look ahead to 2026, the UK regulatory landscape is shaping up to be one of significant evolution and strategic change. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is expected to continue focusing on consumer outcomes, leveraging existing frameworks like the Consumer Duty rather than introducing entirely new AI-specific rules — emphasising enforcement and good conduct over prescriptive regulation. Key themes advisers and firms should watch

The FCA h as announced a major simplification of the complaints reporting process for regulated firms. From 2025, firms will no longer need to submit detailed twice-yearly complaint returns. Instead, the FCA will use smarter data collection and risk-based oversight to reduce the reporting burden—particularly for smaller firms—while still maintaining strong consumer protection standards. This is part of the FCA’s wider move to streamline regulatory processes, remove unnecessa