2025: Reflecting on a 'sustained wave' of regulation

From a regulatory perspective, 2025 has felt less like a steady drip of change and more like a sustained wave. In addition to 34 consultation papers over the past twelve months, firms also had to contend with an industry first - a Section165 mandatory information request, issued to the whole investment advice sector in July. Taken together, these developments signalled not only an exceptionally busy year, but also a regulator that is reshaping how it supervises firms and its strategy around how it wants the advice market to grow. It feels as though 2025 so far has been defined by two ...