Newsletter: 2026 - Opportunity for Growth and Collaboration

THE FOUR NATIONS TOUR SUCCESS - NEW EVENTS CONFIRMED 

The final stop of our Four Nations Tour was at The Vale Resort in Glamorgan this month and a huge thank you to the 200 plus attendees who braved the weather to join us, and to all delegates, partners, FCA and speakers who supported the tour across all five locations.

These events - the first of their kind - created a unique opportunity to hear directly from the FCA and engage in open, two‑way discussion. Delegates consistently praised the FCA’s openness, clarity and willingness to collaborate which again included a Chatham House feedback session for a small group of the practitioner delegates. From previous feedback sessions, small firm practitioners have already influenced FCA policy change - Thank You!

If you weren’t able to join us this time, we're pleased to announce three new dates for 2026 with different agendas for each - details further below.

NEW AND UPDATED MEMBER RESOURCES

We were pleased to launch several new client-facing resources this month, reflecting our commitment to supporting firms with practical, accessible content.

Bereavement Guide 

Unveiled at the Glamorgan event, this practical guide (kindly supported by Just),  helps clients navigate the many tasks that follow a bereavement - a time when clear, step‑by‑step guidance can make a real difference.

New Retirement Income Taskforce Guides

Our Retirement Income Taskforce, chaired by Margaret Snowdon OBE, has published two new guides to support clients with DB pensions:

• Helping You Understand Your Defined Benefit Pension
• What to Think About Before Transferring Your DB Pension

Coming soon

We'll soon be launching a new initiative offering client video resources for members, kindly powered by Alliance Affiliate, Money Alive. The generous pro-bono passion across the sector is genuinely overwhelming and will also see the creation of two new dedicated Taskforces to expand our programme of focus, guidance and good practice sharing. 

ONGOING FCA ENGAGEMENT

Our regular interactions with the FCA’s supervisory and Consumer Duty teams continue. Recent discussions have focused on how smaller firms are delivering good outcomes through proportionate, approaches - particularly around client understanding, outcomes monitoring and governance. 

The FCA recognises the challenge firms face in applying proportionality day‑to‑day, which is why it is developing a Smaller Firms Guide offering sector‑specific examples and practical support - further evidence of a new era of regulatory engagement and collaboration.

We were also pleased to welcome the FCA as observers at our latest Consumer Duty Data Forum, where sector‑wide conversations on data challenges for firms of all sizes progress. The Forum’s first publication - a good‑practice guide and checklist to managing and reporting data - is in its final stages and due for release in February.

It has been produced in collaboration with our extended CDA practitioner panel, who help review and sense-check our latest content, guides, and resources to ensure they’re as practical and impactful as possible.

SAVE THE DATES - H1 REGIONAL EVENTS

Conferences with a Difference - three new dates for our 2026 conference programme, offering a unique opportunity to hear directly from your regulator, the FCA, on key areas of advice and outcomes good practice, alongside real‑world insights from expert practitioners and subject specialists. Places are filling fast, book your seat via the links below:

• 24 March: Airport Hilton, Gatwick
• 22 April: Hotel Football, Manchester
• 21 May: Sandy Park, Exeter

We hope you'll be able to join us at one of these unique events.  

Very best wishes, 

Keith Richards, CEO, Consumer Duty Alliance

Following the success of November's webinar covering the basics of apprenticeships, our next session is intended to give further insight, looking at apprenticeships in action.

The webinar will focus on what actually goes on for the learner, for the employer and the training provider. So a real look under the bonnet of an apprenticeship.

You will hear about real case studies, stories of success and learn what an apprenticeship programme is really like for the learner and the employer.

It takes place on Tuesday, 11 November at 12:00-13:00 and promises to be an insightful discussion with a focus on practical actions and take-aways with time for audience questions. 

Book your space here.

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