Financial advice regulation in the UK is on the brink of a significant transformation. The Advice Guidance Boundary Review (AGBR), a joint initiative by His Majesty’s Treasury and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), aims to redefine how consumers receive support for financial decisions, particularly where traditional advice has been inaccessible or unaffordable.
At its core, the Review seeks to close the longstanding advice gap by clarifying the boundary between guidance, targeted support, and full regulated financial advice. For advisers planning strategy, operations, technology, and compliance, understanding what this review means in practice is essential.
Why Change Is Necessary: The UK Advice Gap
A central motivation behind the Boundary Review is the fact that relatively few UK adults access regulated financial advice.
Only around 8 to 9 percent of UK adults received regulated financial advice in the last year. This low uptake has persisted despite widespread need for help with retirement planning, investments, and long-term financial decisions.
Many consumers do not seek advice because of cost barriers, uncertainty about value, or regulatory complexity that discourages firms from serving lower-asset clients.
By examining and adjusting the regulatory perimeter, the line between guidance and advice, the Review aims to create a framework that supports a wider range of commercial models while maintaining strong consumer protection.
What Is the Advice Guidance Boundary Review?
The Advice Guidance Boundary Review is a regulatory initiative jointly led by the UK Government and the FCA. Its purpose is to ensure consumers can access the financial support they need, at the right time and at a price they can afford.
The Review focuses on how the boundary is drawn between three types of support:
-
Guidance, which provides generic information or tools to help people understand financial concepts and options
-
Targeted support, a proposed new category that allows firms to offer structured suggestions to groups of consumers with shared characteristics
-
Regulated advice, which involves personalised recommendations based on a comprehensive assessment of an individual’s financial circumstances
The objective is to make the regulatory framework more inclusive, allowing firms to deliver high-quality and commercially viable support across this spectrum.
How the Review Has Developed and Where It Stands
The Advice Guidance Boundary Review has progressed through several key stages.
In December 2022, the UK Government and the FCA began examining the advice and guidance boundary as part of the wider Edinburgh Reforms aimed at improving the effectiveness of financial services regulation.
In December 2023, the FCA published a discussion paper outlining proposals to close the advice gap by encouraging more flexible approaches to delivering support.
In December 2024, the FCA released a consultation paper focused on targeted support for pensions, formally introducing targeted support as a regulated concept.
Throughout 2025, further consultations and policy development continued, with draft proposals extending targeted support beyond pensions.
Final rules are expected in late 2025 or early 2026. Firms are likely to be able to apply for permission before the regime goes live in mid to late 2026.
This extended timeline reflects the complexity of balancing innovation, consumer protection, and commercial viability.
Introducing Targeted Support as a New Tier of Consumer Help
A central outcome of the Boundary Review is the introduction of targeted support as a distinct regulated activity.
What Targeted Support Is
Targeted support allows firms to group consumers into defined segments based on shared characteristics, needs, or goals. Firms can then offer ready-made suggestions designed for those segments without conducting full individual suitability assessments.
The aim is to help consumers make better financial decisions at a lower cost than traditional advice, while remaining within a regulated framework.
How It Fits Into the Regulatory Framework
Under the emerging model, financial support services operate along a continuum:
-
Generic guidance that offers broad educational content
-
Targeted support that provides group-based suggestions
-
Regulated advice that delivers fully personalised recommendations
Targeted support focuses on group appropriateness and designed outcomes rather than individual suitability, which enables more efficient delivery for mass-market needs.
Outcomes, Conduct Standards, and Consumer Protection
Although targeted support does not require full individual suitability assessments, it will still be regulated.
The FCA’s approach places emphasis on outcomes rather than prescriptive rules. Firms will need to demonstrate that consumers are better off after receiving targeted support than they were before.
Targeted support will also sit alongside Consumer Duty requirements, which oblige firms to act in good faith, deliver fair value, communicate clearly, and support informed decision-making.
Consumer protection remains central. Firms must consider vulnerability, ensure segment definitions are robust, and monitor outcomes to identify and address issues early.
What This Means for Financial Advisers
For advice firms, the Advice Guidance Boundary Review presents both opportunity and challenge.
Opportunities for Firms
The new framework allows firms to serve consumers with modest assets or straightforward needs who were previously uneconomic to support.
Firms can introduce new service tiers that complement regulated advice rather than replace it. These tiers may act as entry points for consumers who later progress to full advice as their circumstances become more complex.
Technology-enabled delivery models can significantly reduce costs and operational friction, making scale achievable.
Challenges to Prepare For
Firms will need to obtain new regulatory permissions and design governance frameworks specific to targeted support.
Investment in technology will be important, particularly for customer segmentation, suggestion frameworks, and compliance monitoring.
Staff training will be essential so teams understand regulatory boundaries, escalation triggers, and how targeted support differs from regulated advice.
Given expected implementation timelines, firms should begin preparation well in advance of the regime going live in 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
When will the Advice Guidance Boundary Review take effect?
Final rules are expected in early 2026, with firms able to apply for permission before targeted support becomes operational later that year.
Does targeted support replace regulated financial advice?
No. Targeted support complements guidance and regulated advice by providing an additional, lower-cost option for consumers with simpler needs.
Will consumers still be protected under targeted support?
Yes. Targeted support will be regulated, subject to conduct standards, and aligned with Consumer Duty to ensure fair outcomes for consumers.
Discover how Aveni enables cost-effective targeted support delivery at scale →
