The cumulative impact of regulatory change is diverting time and resources away from other priorities, according to a new survey of members of wealth management trade association PIMFA.

Four in five (79%) financial advisers and wealth managers have seen an increase in compliance expenditure over the past year, according to a new report.

The FCA has shared plans to streamline its Consumer Duty rules following stakeholder input.

The FCA is ‘working hard’ to shorten the timeframe for enforcement investigations to boost confidence in the financial services sector, according to senior FCA executive Therese Chambers.

The FCA has proposed further cuts to data reporting requirements by reducing the frequency of submissions for selected sections of the Retail Mediation Activities Return (RMAR).

The FCA is not planning on developing any additional regulations concerning the use of artificial intelligence (AI) by financial services firms.

The number of new whistleblowing reports received by the FCA rose 25% year on year to 315 between April and June (Q2 2024: 253 reports).

The Financial Ombudsman Service has begun a consultation on whether to change its case fees, with businesses paying less for complaints resolved at an earlier stage.

The number of client reviews undertaken within the Dynamic Planner back-office platform have increased by 69% over the past two years due to Consumer Duty.

The Financial Conduct Authority has fined Barclays Bank UK PLC and Barclays Bank PLC a total of £42m for major failings in their financial crime risk management including one relating to collapsed wealth manager WealthTek and one relating to Stunt & Co. 

The Financial Conduct Authority it to review its client categorisation rules to ‘unlock more opportunities for wealthy investors’.

More than 7 in 10 financial advisers (71%) believe it is getting harder for smaller independent financial advice firms to survive, according to a new survey.

Two thirds (65%) of complaints made by whistleblowers to the FCA last financial year included allegations related to compliance.

Some financial advice firms are not adequately collecting and recording client information when offering retirement income advice, according to the FCA.

The FCA has issued a public apology for delays in its investigation into peer-to-peer lending firm FundingSecure, its second apology issued in two weeks.

The FCA has this week stripped permission to carry out regulated business from a London Docklands-based financial adviser called Wise Decisions Ltd (FRN 832056).

The FCA has publicly apologised to clients of two failed mini-bond firms for the way it dealt with their complaints about the firms and will pay compensation.

The FCA is to consolidate its complaints returns in a move which it claims will ease unnecessary red tape burdens on firms.

The number of appointed representatives continued to fall in 2024/25, according to the latest data from the Financial Conduct Authority.

In this special Guest Column for Financial Planning Today, SSAS expert Martin Tilley looks at the need for SSAS regulation and asks whether we are moving closer to new rules. Martin writes regularly for Financial Planning Today's sister website SIPPs Professional which can be viewed here: https://www.sippsprofessional.co.uk/