Today, an advice firm that provides a periodic suitability assessment on MiFID or insurance-based investment business must review suitability at least once a year (COBS 9A.3.9R and 9A.3.10R), and can only take an adviser charge over time for a disclosed ongoing service that the client can cancel. The FCA's CP26/10, published on 25 March 2026, proposes replacing that fixed annual review with periodic reviews set by each client's needs, in a single new suitability chapter, COBS 9C. The consultation closed on 22 May 2026 and the FCA aims to publish final rules in Q4 2026. Until then the annual review rules apply in full.
This guide explains the current rules, what the FCA found when it reviewed ongoing advice, what CP26/10 proposes, and what firms should do now so the change, when it comes, is a saving and not a risk.
The current rules on ongoing advice
Two sets of rules meet in an ongoing service.
| Area | Current rule | What it requires |
|---|---|---|
| Ongoing charges | COBS 6.1A.22R | An adviser charge paid over time must be for a disclosed ongoing service that the client can cancel without penalty, unless it is for one-off advice on a product with regular payments |
| Periodic suitability, MiFID and insurance-based investments | COBS 9A.3.9R and 9A.3.10R | A firm providing a periodic suitability assessment must review suitability at least annually, and more often where the client's risk profile or the products call for it |
| Other suitability | COBS 9 | Suitability rules for business outside COBS 9A, with its own report rules |
| Outcomes | Consumer Duty (PRIN 2A) | The service must deliver fair value and the firm must monitor that clients get what they pay for |
In practice the annual review is the evidence that the ongoing charge was earned. If a review was promised and paid for but not delivered, the charge is hard to justify, under the contract and under the rules.
What the FCA found in its ongoing advice review
On 15 February 2024 the FCA wrote to 22 of the largest advice firms and asked for seven years of data on ongoing suitability reviews. It published the findings on 24 February 2025.
| Finding | Share of cases where a review was promised |
|---|---|
| Review delivered | Around 83% |
| Client declined or did not respond to the offer of a review | A further 15% |
| No attempt made by the firm | Fewer than 2% |
The FCA said it did not consider the problem systemic, but that cases with no attempt "will need to be put right". It asked firms to check whether they had delivered the services their contracts and the rules required, to consider contacting affected clients, to look back to 2018 as an appropriate period, and to consider redress, which may cover only part of the charges where some service was delivered. It also asked firms to think about whether continuing to charge clients who persistently do not engage is in their best interests.
The FCA also committed to review its rules on ongoing services. CP26/10 is that review.
What CP26/10 proposes for ongoing advice
| Proposal | Detail |
|---|---|
| Periodic reviews instead of annual | Remove the annual requirement in COBS 9A.3.9R and 9A.3.10R. Firms would set review frequency from each client's needs and circumstances |
| One suitability chapter | COBS 9 and COBS 9A merged into a new COBS 9C, with ongoing services at COBS 9C.4. The MiFID and non-MiFID distinction largely removed for retail clients |
| Charging for related services | Firms could charge for related ongoing services whether or not they give a new personal recommendation each time |
| Paying for the initial advice over time | Ongoing payments for an initial recommendation only until the up-front cost is paid off |
| Disengaged clients | No new prescriptive rule, but Handbook guidance on Consumer Duty expectations. Firm policies should include stopping collecting fees for ongoing services where clients do not engage |
| Information standard | Advisers to consider "sufficient" information rather than "necessary" information |
| Attitude to risk | A single attitude to risk concept, with a proportionate approach to ability to bear losses |
| Suitability reports | One rule on timing (before the transaction, with a distance exception) and more concise, proportionate content |
| FG17/8 | The FCA's guidance on streamlined advice retired, with its principles moved into the rules |
The FCA is not, at this stage, proposing to change the rules on legacy trail commission. CP26/10 discusses four options: keep the current arrangements, increase transparency, set a sunset date, or allow a transitional period. Adviser charging rules and qualification standards are unchanged.
What periodic reviews do not change
Removing the annual requirement does not remove the need to deliver what the client pays for. Three points stay fixed:
- the ongoing charge must still match an ongoing service the client actually receives, and the client can still cancel it
- the Consumer Duty still requires fair value, and the board report still has to show that ongoing clients get good outcomes
- the review frequency becomes a decision the firm must justify, document and monitor, client by client or segment by segment
A firm that moves high value clients to longer review cycles without changing the price will find that harder to defend under the Duty, not easier.
Timeline
| Date | What happened or happens |
|---|---|
| 15 February 2024 | FCA writes to 22 large advice firms on ongoing suitability reviews |
| 24 February 2025 | FCA publishes its ongoing advice review findings |
| 25 March 2026 | CP26/10 published |
| 6 April 2026 | Targeted support rules take effect, separate from advice |
| 22 May 2026 | CP26/10 consultation closes |
| Q4 2026 | FCA aims to publish the policy statement and final rules, depending on feedback |
| To be confirmed | Implementation date for COBS 9C, to be set in the policy statement |
What advice firms should do now
- Reconcile ongoing charges to services delivered, client by client, back to at least 2018, and resolve gaps before the FCA asks.
- Map your ongoing service offer: what each service level includes, how often you meet, and what evidence you keep.
- Segment clients by need. Those with drawdown, complex tax positions or vulnerable characteristics will usually need more frequent contact. Simpler arrangements may need less.
- Write a disengaged client policy now: how many attempts, over what period, and when you stop charging.
- Test fair value per service level. If a client gets less contact, the price should reflect it.
- Prepare for one suitability report rule. Shorter, layered reports will be allowed, but must still state disadvantages.
- Keep applying the current annual review rule until the final rules take effect.
Our COBS suitability guide covers the wider suitability changes, and our guide to Consumer Duty for investment and wealth firms covers the outcome evidence.
Targeted support is a separate regime
Targeted support, live since 6 April 2026, lets authorised firms suggest products to groups of consumers in similar circumstances without a personal recommendation. It has its own permission, its own rules in COBS 9B and, for personal investment firms, a £500,000 capital requirement under IPRU(INV) 13.13.2R. It does not replace ongoing advice, and CP26/10 does not change it.
How Regulatory Counsel helps
We review ongoing service delivery and charging, design client segmentation and disengaged client policies, and run file reviews against COBS and the Consumer Duty. See our compliance support and Consumer Duty services, and our investment and wealth firms sector page.