Five key points for advisers

On 15 July, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published its business plan and set out its key priorities for the year ahead.

There is much talk about the FCA’s own internal transformation programme and how the organisation intends to become a forward-looking, proactive data-led regulator which is prepared to meet future disruption head-on in a tough, decisive, and agile fashion.

As a result, the plan contains less information about the FCA’s policy priorities than it has done in the past.

However, here are the top five takeaways…

1. Consumer priorities remain largely unchanged

The FCA is taking forward the four consumer priorities it identified in last year’s business plan (effective consumer investment decisions, consumer credit markets that work well, safe and accessible payments and fair value in a digital age).  The only new consumer priority this time around is the FCA’s new Consumer Duty, which brings a new emphasis on consumer outcomes…