Financial Planners are moving upmarket and focusing on better off and HNW clients, according to our recently published 2026 annual survey of Financial Planning Today readers.

The majority, 70%, of Financial Planning firms say that AI will not impact their headcount this year, with only 3% planning to reduce current staffing levels due to AI.

More than nine out of 10, 93%, of women who are currently or have previously been in a Financial Planning role would recommend it to other women, according to the Women in Personal Finance survey.

Financial Planning continues to evolve and it’s clear that due to a number of pressures - and opportunities - many planners are shifting their focus to more upmarket clients with bigger portfolios.

I suspect many in the regulatory community never expected to be readying to throw some of their carefully-crafted rules on a bonfire of red tape to boost business growth, but that’s exactly what they are being asked to do by the government which this week stepped up its efforts to demand regulatory reform to promote business expansion.

I’ve always believed that we should look after the wealth creators; the entrepreneurs, the business starters, the self employed, the pioneers, the creative people who spot a market opportunity, the professionals who launch new services and start-ups.

FCA bashing is something of a sport in the trade press, and we’ve certainly levelled criticism at the regulator ourselves, so it was pleasing this week to have a good reason to portray the FCA as the hero rather than the villain.

Consolidation is an interesting word and it’s probably something very much on the mind of many Financial Planners and financial advisory firms as the M&A wave continues.