On 15 July 2025, HM Treasury (HMT) published a Policy Note on Targeted Support.
As part of their joint review of the regulatory boundary between financial advice and guidance, the government and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) are moving forward with a proposal for a new regime – targeted support. Targeted support will enable authorised firms to provide more support with investments and pensions, making recommendations that are designed for groups of consumers with similar characteristics and circumstances.
The Policy Note provides commentary on the draft Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) (Amendment) Order 2025 (the draft SI) to aid the review of its provisions. The purpose of the draft SI is to create a new specified activity of providing targeted support and lay out that when a firm provides targeted support it is not ‘advising on investments’ under Article 53 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) Order 2001. The commentary in the Policy Note explains HMT’s intended policy outcomes for these provisions and how the provisions achieve these.
The draft SI and should not be treated as final. HMT welcomes any comments on the draft SI by 29 August 2025.