On 10 July 2025, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) issued a press release stating that it is planning to review its client categorisation rules to unlock more opportunities for wealthy investors and support capital markets, driving economic growth.
Nikhil Rathi, chief executive of the FCA, said: ‘Modernising the client classification regime will provide greater clarity about the rules and protections applying to different customer groups, particularly for wholesale firms. We want to rebalance risk to support growth and competitiveness, which is at the heart of our strategy. We are delivering a large number of reforms to support a bolder risk appetite, making it easier for companies to raise capital and reimagining financial advice and guidance to boost investment.’
The FCA has also published its Secondary International Competitiveness and Growth Objective (SICGO) report which highlights the progress made on its work to support growth from July 2024 to July 2025. The FCA is required by law to publish a report annually for the first two years of operation of the secondary objective. In the future, it plans to report on how it has advanced SICGO in its annual report.