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Get in Touch
T: +44 20 3695 9251
E: info@grtconsult.com
71-75 Shelton Street Covent Garden, London, WC2H 9JQ
On 26 February 2026 the FCA Board made the final targeted support rules; the regime went live from 6 April 2026. Banks, building societies, pension providers, platforms, SIPP operators, fund and wealth managers, and advice firms — dual- and solo-regulated — that hold the new specified-activity permission can now give suggestions designed for groups of consumers with common characteristics. Applications opened on 2 March 2026 via Connect; if you do not yet have permission, that is the next official action on this file.
PS25/22 is the lock: “On 26 February 2026 the FCA Board made the final rules.” “Firms can begin applying for permission … from 2 March 2026 … The regime will go live from 6 April 2026.” The Advice Guidance Boundary Review page matches that: “We expect the targeted support rules to take effect from 6 April 2026.” “The FCA Board decided to confirm the near-final rules as final on 26 February 2026.”
The FCA’s gateway news story — quoted here without inventing a publication date for that page — says: “From 6 April 2026, people’s banks, pension providers, or other financial firms that are authorised for targeted support can provide suggestions designed for groups of consumers with common characteristics.”
This is a new specified activity, not a relabel of existing guidance. You need permission. You apply via Connect. PASS remains available before you file.
Calendar on this file:
The FCA estimates around 23 million consumers are underserved by the markets for advice and guidance. AGBR: targeted support “introduces a new set of conduct standards, which, alongside the Consumer Duty, provide consumer protections.” A Duty outcomes file is not the permission.
| Business type | What is in scope | What to do now |
|---|---|---|
| Banks and building societies | New specified activity; group suggestions on pensions and retail investments | Confirm permission granted vs Connect in flight. If live: operating model, MI, complaints. If not: PASS then application. |
| Pension providers, trustees and trust-based schemes | Same activity; workplace communications sit against direct-marketing rules (FCA/ICO joint statement, December 2025, named on PS25/22) | Map member groups. Do not start proactive targeted support without permission and a group-definition file. |
| Platforms and SIPP operators | In PS25/22 “who this is for”; permission required | Align platform journeys with the group characteristics you filed. |
| Fund and wealth managers | Retail investment targeted support as a specified activity | Separate this from suitability files. Group suggestions are not a personal recommendation. |
| Advice firms | May add targeted support alongside advice; simplified advice remains a later AGBR workstream (“early 2026”) | Do not wait for the advice-rules consultation to decide whether you need this permission. |
| Dual- and solo-regulated applicants | Both can apply (PS25/22) | Use Connect. Dual-regulated firms: PRA processes do not cover this FCA specified activity. |
Operational tip: PASS is free and voluntary. Request a pre-application meeting via the PASS section of Connect. The news story notes PASS was launched for targeted support last year — no separate publication date is used here.
| Step | Action | What operational staff must deliver | Official reference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Confirm permission status at 6 April 2026 | Legal entities: permission granted / application in / not applying | PS25/22; AGBR: apply via Connect; go-live 6 April 2026 |
| 2 | If not yet authorised: PASS then Connect | PASS form with the proposed model; then a complete specified-activity application | AGBR “Apply for targeted support permission”; PS25/22 next steps |
| 3 | Define the consumer groups | Common characteristics, the suggestion, and the decision the group is taking | AGBR examples: unsustainable drawdown; excess cash into an ISA |
| 4 | Build design, delivery and purpose controls | Policies, scripts, MI and sign-off, alongside Consumer Duty | PS25/22 framework; AGBR: conduct standards alongside the Duty |
| 5 | Communications, complaints, FOS and ICO | Customer wording and opt-out handling; DISP-ready file | PS25/22 names FCA/ICO and FCA/FOS joint statements, December 2025 |
| 6 | Watch the advice-rules consultation | Owner for AGBR “early 2026” investment-advice simplification; do not invent a day | AGBR next steps |
handbook.fca.org.uk / COBS 9B cites that were not HTTP-checked in this lock.GRT Consulting supports operational teams with permission gap analysis, Connect / PASS application evidence packs, group-definition files and Duty-aligned MI, and complaints and communications read-across to the FOS and ICO statements named on PS25/22.
Contact us for a focused readiness review: T: +44 20 3695 9251 E: info@grtconsult.com Web: grtconsult.com
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