TCC Group’s (TCC, Momenta and Recordsure) CEO Joe Norburn recently featured in Always Finance News, consolidation in the UK advice and wealth management market is now seen as a structural shift rather than a temporary trend, driven by succession challenges, regulatory pressures and rising operational costs. The FCA’s latest review highlights that the key issue is not consolidation itself but whether firms can govern growth effectively. The regulator is placing particular emphasis on financial resilience, stressing that how acquisitions are financed, how debt is structured and how risks are stress-tested can directly affect customer outcomes.
The FCA also warns that as firms scale through acquisitions, strong governance, culture and robust due diligence are essential. Weak oversight, poor management information and unmanaged conflicts of interest can undermine the Consumer Duty if growth outpaces controls. Ultimately, consolidation is not the risk, but failing to match expansion with effective governance, financial discipline and data-led oversight could expose firms to regulatory scrutiny and customer harm.