Key takeaways:
- The FCA’s 2025 advice rules introduce stricter standards for UK advisers.
- Mid-year is a critical time to review compliance with new requirements.
- Practical steps now can help avoid regulatory and reputational risk.
- Aveni’s solutions support advisers in meeting FCA obligations efficiently.
2025 FCA updates are transforming the regulatory landscape for UK advisers. With the FCA tightening Consumer Duty requirements, redefining ongoing advice standards, and pushing for data-transparent supervision, many firms face rising costs and growing expectations.
But here is the good news: compliance does not have to mean complexity. Smart automation, like Aveni Assist, helps you meet the 2025 FCA updates by streamlining your workflow and turning regulatory challenges into competitive advantages.
What are the 2025 FCA advice rules?
1. FCA abolished consumer duty champion, but standards remain rigid
The Consumer Duty remains firmly in place, continuing to require firms to act in clients’ best interests and demonstrate good outcomes. However, in February 2025, one notable adjustment was made: the FCA no longer expects firms to appoint a board-level “Consumer Duty champion.“
Do not interpret this as relaxed standards. The regulator still demands strong governance around Consumer Duty. These 2025 FCA updates emphasise that governance and client outcomes standards remain strict.
2. Ongoing advice failures trigger targeted FCA scrutiny
An analysis of the FCA’s 2024 survey of major advice firms exposed an uncomfortable truth: some clients were paying for reviews they never received.
The analysis, released in February of this year, painted a clear picture:
- 83% of scheduled suitability reviews were delivered
- 15% of clients declined to provide their reviews
- Under 2% had no review scheduled at all
While not systemic, these gaps triggered targeted FCA attention. Two takeaways:
- Ensure scheduled reviews happen or are properly declined.
- Keep timestamped, audit-ready records of every client interaction.
3. Only 9% get regulated advice: FCA proposes low-cost alternatives
The FCA flagged a worrying statistic: just 9% of consumers received regulated financial advice in the year to May 2024.
As a result, they have proposed “targeted support” for pensions, in the form of light-touch, lower-cost frameworks that sit outside full regulated advice. The consultation ran through February 2025.
Firms will soon have more flexible options, yet they will need to adjust processes, disclosures, and documentation accordingly.
In a further development, the FCA has officially scrapped plans for a standalone simplified advice regime. Instead, it will refine existing rules to give firms more clarity around delivering focused, lower-cost advice within the current regulatory framework. This includes consolidating old guidance, aligning with Consumer Duty, and working with the Financial Ombudsman Service to ensure suitability expectations match the advice scope. The new approach, termed ‘targeted support’, aims to bridge the advice gap without creating a separate regulatory category.
4. Every client interaction must be audit-ready and traceable
Data-driven supervision is a key focus in the 2025 FCA updates, requiring firms to keep detailed, traceable records of all advice and client outcomes.
Meeting notes, suitability reports, and call transcripts all need to be “audit-ready” and traceable back to the original interaction. The regulator wants to follow your thinking from the initial client conversation through to the final recommendation.
What this means: build bulletproof documentation habits now. The FCA will be checking, and gaps in your records would not be tolerated.
5. FCA plans to cut admin, but core duties stay firm
There is some good news buried in all these changes. The FCA’s 2025 strategy includes cutting outdated rules and reducing pointless admin. Scrapping the Consumer Duty Champion requirement is just the start.
A full rulebook review is coming, which could streamline routine reporting. But do not mistake this for a compliance holiday; your fundamental responsibilities to clients remain rock-solid.
What this means: admin might get easier, but standards would not slip. Stay alert for updates while maintaining your current compliance practices.
Why is a mid-year compliance check important?
Advisers face challenges such as keeping up with evolving documentation standards, ensuring all advice is demonstrably suitable, and maintaining clear records of ongoing service fees and client communications.
How can advisers address the new FCA requirements?
Advisers should review their advice processes, update documentation templates, provide regular staff training, and adopt technology solutions to automate compliance checks and reporting. These regulatory changes create four immediate challenges for advisers
- Deliver what you promise. If clients pay for annual reviews, those reviews must happen. No exceptions. You need systems to track every commitment and follow-up date.
- Create bulletproof records. Every client meeting needs comprehensive documentation. You must be able to show exactly what was discussed and justify every recommendation you made.
- Communicate like a human. Your suitability reports, emails, and client summaries need to ditch the jargon. Focus on outcomes that clients can understand.
- Stay agile as rules evolve. New support frameworks are coming. You will need to update templates, revise workflows, and adapt processes quickly.
Here is the challenge: you need to meet these higher standards without drowning in paperwork. The solution: AI tools like Aveni Assist and Detect that handle the heavy lifting whilst keeping you compliant.
How does Aveni Support FCA compliance?
Aveni’s AI-powered compliance tools automate record-keeping, monitor advice quality, and flag potential compliance issues, helping advisers stay aligned with FCA expectations.
From meeting to report in minutes
Picture this: you have just wrapped up a client meeting on Zoom. Usually, you would face hours of note-writing, report drafting, and follow-up emails.
Not anymore. Aveni Assist captures everything in real-time during your call. Within minutes, it produces the content you need for your suitability report and personalised client email based on the actual conversation.
What you get:
- Client’s goals exactly as they stated them
- Your recommendations with clear reasoning
- Direct references to transcript moments
- A compliance-ready audit trail
You review, tweak if needed, and send. The client gets their information promptly. You get your evening back.
The impact: real conversations become FCA-ready documentation in minutes, not hours.
Never miss another review again
Here is a common scenario: you charge annual fees for ongoing reviews, but tracking who needs what when becomes a nightmare.
Aveni Assist solves this by automatically updating your CRM with meeting details.*¹ When review time comes, it drafts pre-meeting agendas using previous notes. During the review, it captures any changes in circumstances. Afterwards, it creates the updated suitability report.
You can also generate a report showing exactly how many reviews were completed versus declined.
The impact: systematic delivery of promised services with complete documentation.
Audit-ready from day one
Imagine the FCA knocks on your door asking for evidence that your advice was suitable. With traditional methods, you would be scrambling through files and trying to reconstruct your thinking.
With Aveni Assist, you instantly provide:
- Complete meeting transcripts
- AI-generated reports linked to source conversations
- Clear trails showing how recommendations were reached
- Automatic compliance checks against current FCA rules
The system even suggests plain English alternatives and flags required disclosures.
The impact: confidence in any audit situation because your evidence is always complete and traceable.
Future-proof your practice
FCA rules keep evolving. New consultations, frameworks, and expectations emerge regularly. Traditional approaches mean constantly updating templates and retraining staff.
Aveni Assist evolves with the regulations.
The impact: your practice stays current without constant manual updates.
The bottom line
The FCA wants clear, fair, and timely service, and they are checking. But compliance does not have to consume your practice.
Aveni Assist handles the heavy lifting:
- Transforms meetings into automated admin
- Tracks ongoing commitments
- Maintains audit-ready documentation
This frees you to focus on what you do best: giving great advice. Every interaction is recorded, every outcome is traceable, and every audit becomes manageable.
The result: stronger compliance, happier clients, and more time for what matters most.
Automatic CRM population is currently available for firms using Intelliflo as their CRM system.
Frequently asked questions (FAQ): 2025 FCA updates and AI for advisers
1. What happens if my firm is not fully compliant with the 2025 FCA rules?
Non-compliance can result in regulatory penalties, reputational damage, and loss of client trust.
2. How often should compliance checks be performed?
Best practice is to conduct formal compliance reviews at least twice a year, and ongoing monitoring should be continuous.
3. How can I prove that I am delivering ongoing advice to my clients?
You must track all scheduled reviews, follow-ups, and client communications. The FCA expects firms to show clear, time-stamped records of advice, including suitability reviews, client responses, and notes on declined reviews. AI tools like Aveni Assist help automate this process while keeping everything traceable and compliant.
4. Can technology help with FCA compliance?
Yes, AI-driven tools like Aveni’s can automate documentation, monitor advice quality, and ensure regulatory requirements are met.
5. What kind of records does the FCA expect advisers to keep?
Advisers must maintain detailed and fully auditable records of all client interactions: calls, emails, suitability reports, and decision-making notes. Documents must be traceable to source data, such as meeting transcripts or CRM entries. Using AI-powered tools ensures your records are consistent, accurate, and FCA-ready.
6. Can AI tools like Aveni Assist help with FCA compliance?
Yes. Aveni Assist is specifically designed for UK financial advisers. It captures client meetings, generates suitability reports, and drafts follow-up emails, all in line with FCA Consumer Duty requirements. It ensures outputs are traceable, jargon-free, and compliant, while drastically reducing your admin time.
7. Where can I find more guidance on the 2025 FCA rules?
Visit the FCA’s official website or consult Aveni’s resources for up-to-date compliance guidance.
8. How can I prepare for FCA audits or supervisory requests?
Keep your documentation clean, centralised, and ready to share. Tools like Aveni Assist allow you to produce a full audit trail that is complete with transcripts, reports, and linked recommendations at the click of a button. This proactive approach aligns with the FCA’s data-driven supervision strategy.
9. Is using AI in financial advice compliant with FCA rules?
Yes, as long as you remain responsible for the final outputs. Aveni Assist drafts content for your review and approval. It does not replace your professional judgement but supports compliance by ensuring all materials are accurate, traceable, and aligned with regulation.
10. What are the biggest FCA compliance risks for advisers in 2025?
Top risks include:
- Failing to deliver promised services (e.g. annual reviews)
- Poor record-keeping or lack of traceable documentation
- Using unclear or misleading communications
- Not adapting to new frameworks like targeted guidance
Staying informed and investing in smart compliance tools will help mitigate these risks.
Read the original article here.
