What happened?
TCC Group’s Strategic Regulatory Director, Jason Wintie, was recently featured in Money Marketing discussing the FCA’s findings from its review into consolidation across the financial advice and wealth management sector. The review highlights the regulator’s expectations around prudential resilience, governance, conduct, operational resilience and conflict management as firms pursue growth through acquisitions.
Why does it matter?
The FCA has made it clear that consolidation remains firmly on its regulatory agenda. As firms grow through mergers and acquisitions, the regulator expects governance, risk and compliance frameworks to scale alongside them. The review emphasises that financial resilience, effective due diligence, well-planned integration and strong board oversight are all essential to maintaining good customer outcomes under Consumer Duty. Firms that fail to meet these expectations could face increased regulatory scrutiny and intervention.
Supporting sources
Frequently asked questions
What were the main findings from the FCA’s review into consolidation?
The FCA highlighted expectations across several areas, including financial resilience, governance, risk management, due diligence, integration planning and conflict management. The review emphasises that firms must maintain strong oversight and robust controls as they grow through acquisition.
Does the FCA’s review introduce any new regulatory requirements?
No. The FCA stated that the review does not create new rules. Instead, it reinforces existing regulatory expectations and reminds firms of their responsibilities around governance, prudential soundness, operational resilience and delivering good customer outcomes.
What actions should consolidators and acquiring firms take now?
Firms should benchmark their current arrangements against the FCA’s findings, review governance and risk frameworks, and ensure there is clear board-level accountability for acquisition decisions, integration activities and customer outcomes. The FCA has indicated it may take action where governance, oversight or notification requirements fall short.
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Reviewed by TCC Group Editorial Team