If the past 12 months have felt relentless, you are not alone. For financial advisers, 2025 has been a year of intense pressure, constant adaptation and layered uncertainty. From Consumer Duty moving from principle to practice, to volatile markets and shifting regulation, it has been a year that has tested both resilience and resolve. Yet, behind the noise, 2025 has also been a year of meaningful progress, reflection and response.
The advice profession has spent time reassessing how it engages clients, how it widens access and how it demonstrates value in a fast-changing regulatory and economic environment. The shift has been less about firefighting and more about laying foundations for a more inclusive, responsive and sustainable advice model.
As we move into 2026, the focus for advisers is becoming clearer. This is about refining delivery, embedding trust, embracing supportive technology and finding balance between innovation and the human instinct that underpins great advice. The aim is not to simplify a complex world, but to make it navigable for clients while protecting the integrity of the profession.
In this article, IFA Magazine has collected insights from some of the most prominent voices within the profession to get their reflections on 2025 and what they are expecting from 2026. We hope sharing their views will help better equip you as financial professionals to serve your clients throughout the next year.
What 2025 revealed for advisers
Looking back, 2025 has been a year of realisation and recalibration. Advisers have continued to guide clients through turbulent markets, while simultaneously responding to heightened scrutiny, increased regulatory demands and the evolving expectations of consumers.
Ross Liston, CEO of M&G Advice, reflects on the year by saying, “2025 has shown, more than ever, the power of advice to help change lives.” He reinforces the profession’s wider role, stating, “Advisers aren’t just managing money, they’re helping shape futures and support financial wellbeing for generations to come.” This has arguably never been more true than in a year where reassurance and clarity became as valuable as performance.
At the structural level, the sector has finally moved beyond quiet acknowledgement and towards active reform. Amanda Cassidy, Managing Director of Quilter Financial Advisers, notes, “The past year has been shaped by the acceptance that the current advice framework needs to evolve if it is going to serve a wider range of customers.” Progress around AGBR and targeted support has created a clearer roadmap for how advisers can engage those who previously sat outside the traditional advice model, without undermining professional standards.
Ben Hampton, CEO of Advice at Royal London, highlights one of the most significant structural changes facing the sector. “Targeted Support will be a vital bridge, not a substitute, for the gold standard that is individualised advice. It will be complementary, creating an accessible entry point to advice for more people earlier.” For advisers, this represents both opportunity and responsibility, signalling the emergence of a new layer of engagement that sits between guidance and full advice.
For advisers, 2025 has not been about instant transformation but about strategic groundwork, shaping the systems, mindset and infrastructure needed to future-proof advice.
Moving markets and volatility
2025 has been defined by sharp market swings, geopolitical disruption and ongoing macroeconomic recalibration. Advisers have once again played a central role in maintaining perspective for clients and preventing emotionally driven decisions.
Danielle Labotka, Behavioural Scientist at Morningstar, captures the behavioural challenge ahead: “Investors will be going into 2026 wondering how they can make good investing decisions amid continued uncertainty about everything from trade to the Fed.” She reinforces the importance of steady, informed guidance, advocating for “not selling in reaction to headlines, rebalancing during market shocks, and finding buying opportunities when assets are at a discount.” This behavioural framework continues to strengthen the adviser’s role as both strategist and emotional anchor.
Despite the turbulence, there have been clear moments of strength. The FTSE 100 surprised many by reaching record levels, shifting sentiment around UK equities and reinforcing the value of disciplined diversification.
Jemma Slingo, Pensions and Investment Specialist at Fidelity International, observes, “The index’s performance this year has challenged the idea that London’s market is a ‘dinosaur’, and investors are beginning to take notice.” This narrative shift has prompted renewed discussion around UK exposure and the positioning of client portfolios across domestic and global markets.
From a global perspective, the environment remains constructive but complex. Salman Ahmed, Global Head of Macro and Strategic Asset Allocation at Fidelity International, explains, “We enter 2026 amid a supportive macro environment. Growth should be resilient, and policy (both monetary and fiscal) is accommodative.” However, he also highlights the long-term implications of fragmentation and currency dynamics, reinforcing the need for advisers to remain thoughtful and selective in how risk is allocated.
Alongside market volatility, 2025 also brought nature-related risk firmly into focus for advisers. Physical events such as flooding, water shortages and insurance disruption increasingly showed up not as abstract ESG concerns, but as direct financial issues affecting clients’ assets, liabilities and long-term plans.
Rob Gardner, CEO and co-founder of Rebalance Earth, says 2025 was the year advisers felt the real-world impact of these risks. “Flooding, water shortages and insurance shocks behaved less like environmental events and more like infrastructure failures,” he explains. “These were not ESG issues. They were financial issues.” With more companies adopting the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures and asset managers preparing for new Sustainability Disclosure Requirements, nature has moved into the same category carbon occupied only a few years ago. Looking ahead to 2026, Gardner says COP30 will push nature further into the mainstream, creating a growing opportunity for advisers to treat nature-related risk as a standard part of suitability and annual reviews.
Advice technology and autonomy
Technology has been one of the most defining forces shaping adviser experience in 2025. What began as cautious experimentation has matured into purposeful integration, driven by the need for efficiency, documentation integrity and enhanced client communication.
Stu Breyer, CEO of mallowstreet, articulates this transition clearly: “What advisers asked for in 2025 was not more automation, but autonomy. They wanted technology that works with them, not for them.” He reinforces that, “This is not about replacing advisers. It is about protecting their relationships by giving them the time back to engage.” This shift towards intelligent support systems has allowed advisers to rebalance administrative burden and refocus on strategic client interaction.
As we look ahead, AI and digital tools are increasingly becoming embedded into suitability processes, reporting and client engagement, not as replacements, but as extensions of professional judgement and empathy.
Culture, resilience and the pressure on advisers
Beyond regulation and markets, 2025 has exposed deeper challenges within workplace culture and professional wellbeing. The emotional load placed on advisers has intensified as expectations rise and support structures struggle to keep pace.
Jenny Segal, Author and Workplace Culture Expert at Speaking With Images, highlights this strain by stating, “2025 has been a confronting year for the workplace.” She reflects on how increasing pressure and reduced psychological safety have affected professional confidence, particularly for women, adding that “Resilience is now a business asset, equality a business imperative.” For advice firms, this signals the growing importance of embedding authentic, supportive culture into business strategy.
Healthy, psychologically safe environments not only support adviser wellbeing but directly impact the quality of client relationships, communication and long-term retention.
What 2026 means for advisers
The year ahead will be less about laying foundations and more about operationalising change. Targeted support and redefined advice boundaries will begin to move from concept to reality, requiring firms to consider how they structure propositions, client journeys and compliance frameworks.
Advisers are likely to see an increased emphasis on segmentation, nuanced client support and differentiated service models. The requirement will not simply be to deliver advice, but to demonstrate clarity, purpose and outcomes in a way that aligns with evolving regulatory and consumer expectations.
There will also be greater opportunity for advisers who successfully blend human connection with technological confidence. Those who combine empathy with process efficiency and innovation with trust will be best positioned to lead in a changing landscape.
Chris Jones, Financial Services Director at Dynamic Planner, reflects this balance by stating, “Fundamentally, an adviser’s job is to make complex things simple for their clients, which makes advice even more valuable – although when so much comes so quickly, it can become overwhelming.” He maintains an optimistic outlook, concluding, “If we work together and remain client-focused, we can make everything a bit easier and everyone better off.”
Turning reflection into action
Reflecting on 2025 reveals a profession that has been stretched, challenged and reshaped. From regulatory reform and market disruption to cultural pressure and technological acceleration, the advice landscape has undergone significant transformation.
Looking ahead, 2026 presents an opportunity to refine, embed and elevate. Advisers can expect a clearer direction of travel, with emerging frameworks providing greater structure and purpose to engagement. While uncertainty will remain part of the backdrop, the profession enters the year with renewed clarity around its identity, value and role in society.
As Ross Liston, CEO of M&G Advice, reminds us, “In a world full of uncertainty, advice remains a force for good, a partnership which helps every generation feel secure about their future.” That partnership now extends beyond individual client relationships, shaping the future of advice itself as the industry steps forward into 2026 with confidence, realism and intent.
By Jenny Hunter, IFA Magazine’s Deputy Editor.
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