On 27 May 2026, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published its findings following a review which assessed ten authorised firms that approve financial promotions for businesses which are not authorised by the FCA.
The FCA found that the strongest firms were applying the Consumer Duty from the start of their processes. But some firms approved adverts with unsubstantiated claims or allowed retail investors to see promotions intended for professional clients. In other cases, firms relied on third-party templates instead of doing proper checks themselves.
As a result of the FCA’s work, one firm has already had to conduct a remediation exercise and some websites have been blocked to retail customers. The FCA will continue to monitor compliance and will hold firms that fall short to account.