April’s FCA Rule Change Just Drew a Line in the Sand for Advice Firms
Targeted Support opens a new way to engage clients efficiently, but the real differentiator will be how advisers capture, structure, and evidence their conversations. Firms that upgrade their processes, not just templates, will gain compliance, capacity, and client experience advantages.
From April, the FCA’s new Targeted Support regime comes into play.
On paper, it looks like a regulatory tweak.
In reality, it’s a pretty big structural shift.
We now have something properly sitting between guidance and full regulated advice. That creates opportunity — especially for firms thinking about how to serve clients more efficiently and at scale.
But here’s the part I think a lot of firms are underestimating.
While the boundary is evolving, the expectation around evidence hasn’t relaxed. If anything, Consumer Duty has made it tighter.
It’s no longer enough to say:
“We covered risk.”
“The client understood.”
“We discussed alternatives.”
“Fees were explained clearly.”
You need to be able to show it.
And when you really look at how most firms operate day-to-day, that’s where the gap is.
Notes written after the meeting.
Suitability reports built from memory.
CRM fields updated quickly before the next call.
Conversations summarised rather than evidenced.
That was already a weak spot.
Layer targeted support on top of that — where you’re potentially engaging groups of clients in a more streamlined way — and process becomes everything.
The firms that benefit most from this change won’t just be the ones who apply for new permissions.
They’ll be the ones who tighten their infrastructure.
Who capture meetings properly.
Who structure client conversations consistently.
Who can evidence understanding, not just state it.
Who can show a clear, repeatable process across advisers.
That’s not just about compliance.
That’s capacity.
That’s scalability.
That’s lower PI risk.
That’s better client experience.
Every regulatory shift creates two camps:
Those who update templates.
And those who upgrade systems.
This feels like one of those moments.
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We’re Advicly, an AI tech software built specifically for financial advisers.
We spend a lot of time thinking about how advice is captured, structured and evidenced — but we also like covering the interesting shifts happening in the industry and keeping up with the latest regulatory developments.
If you’re thinking about how targeted support fits into your firm this year, I’d be interested to hear your take.
