Setting priorities - the FCA publishes its areas of focus for consumer investments in 2026
Blog Professional and Financial Risks

This week, the FCA published its Regulatory Priorities for Consumer Investments. The intention is that these publications will be published annually and replace portfolio letters. This serves as a useful summary of what the FCA's been doing and its intentions for the near future.

The publication opens by noting that the consumer investment sector comprises over 5,000 firms and 7,000 appointed representatives, and that 19 million UK adults hold an investment product of some sort. The general thrust of the paper is that more consumers need to invest, with the FCA noting that in 2024, 41% of consumers with £10,000 or more to invest hold all of these funds in cash.

The hope is that initiatives such as the introduction of targeted support and reforms to product information will give consumers the confidence to invest. It's therefore understandable that one of the FCA's key consumer investment priorities for the next year is building a stronger investment culture, which they note firms can do by communicating clearly and honestly, and fully explaining risks and rewards (and, of course, explaining fees and charges).

Further priorities include strengthening trust (to be done by ensuring strong governance, robust risk systems and paying redress where due) and securing good consumer outcomes (via monitoring, fair pricing and timely support). The FCA also mentions strengthening financial crime controls.

The FCA goes on to discuss what they've been doing in the market in 2025, with highlights including the introduction of targeted support (which will take effect from April this year). The FCA notes that "a large number of firms [are] using our pre-application support service." This doesn’t quite tally with a recent article from the FT Advisor which states that only 19 firms were using this as of early January, although it Is of course possible that there's been an uptick since then.

The FCA also notes its work in combatting fraud and taking action on unlawful financial promotions.

Some other areas of focus for 2026 include increasing operational and financial resilience across the sector, the review of the SMCR and the eagerly anticipated publication of a final policy statement on the new cryptoasset regime.

In closing, the FCA notes that its intention is that there will be less attention on firms doing the right thing and stronger action where harm is greatest. Again, a laudable aim.

In summary, whilst the stated priorities may boost consumer confidence, it's hard to see how this will encourage firms to actively seek to close the advice gap, particularly for consumers looking to invest smaller amounts; the FCA's hope seems to be that targeted support will be offered free at the point of use (having previously noted that respondents to their consultation on targeted support had agreed that uptake would be limited if this wasn’t the case). The key question is whether firms are actually likely to offer this service when they could ultimately be at risk of claims for little (if any) reward. It therefore remains to be seen whether the priorities and actions set out for 2026 will support growth (as intended).