5 Key Areas of FCA Focus in 2025 for Wealth Managers

Within the FCA's Annual Work Programme for 2025/26 Leaman Crellin has identified the following 5 key areas of focus for wealth managers. Ranging from market integrity and operational efficiency, through to innovation, and reducing regulatory burdens.

1. Market Abuse

FCA will continue to take assertive action in protecting against potential market abuse. It has stated that it will achieve this through improved detection and investigation capabilities.

This year FCA reaffirms its commitment to deterring market abuse through supervisory, civil, and criminal sanctions. Notably, last year we saw a marked increase in bilateral and assertive conversations with firms about their market abuse control frameworks.

2. Simplifying the Retail Fund Regime

The FCA is intending to achieve a clearer distinction between retail and alternative fund rules.

A rebranding of non-UCITS funds should rationalise the regime and help to clarify the rules applicable to NURS.

Streamlining reporting obligations for retail funds could lead to a reduction in reporting requirements.

3. Improving Transparency

FCA is focused on increasing transparency and this includes the implementation of more options for investors to pay for research and amendments to product disclosure rules

4. Widening Access To Financial Markets

Looking across all the proposals in the FCA’s Annual Work Programme there are several areas targeted toward enhancing market access for smaller investors, for example FCA is looking to enable firms to issue lower denomination bonds.

5. Supporting innovation in asset management

FCA has also committed to fostering innovation within the asset management sector by progressing the digital securities sandbox and developing a roadmap for digital assets, starting with the asset management industry.

Leaman Crellin has identified the new initiatives FCA has planned for 2025/26 which may also apply to your firm, you can read that article here