The Financial Ombudsman Service has been rapped by The Information Commissioner’s Office over continued failings to meet its obligations under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

A new industry-led working group set up by the FCA to focus on boosting advisers' sustainable finance capability has included a Chartered and Certified Financial Planner among its founding members.

The number of advice firms planning to launch their own in-house platform has levelled-off, according to NextWealth’s latest report into the trend.

A third (34%) of advisers changed platforms in the last year following the Consumer Duty, mergers and technology updates, according to Defaqto’s newly-released annual Platform Service Review for 2024.

Companies House has introduced enhanced powers to improve the quality and reliability of its data and tackle the misuse of the companies register.

A new adviser CRM has been launched to challenge the likes of established CRM firms such as Intelliflo, IRESS and Time4Advice.

The number of underperforming so-called ‘dog’ funds has soared by 170% with 151 equity investment funds consistently underperforming their relevant market index over the last three years.

The FCA has launched a criminal investigation into Newcastle-based wealth manager WealthTek LLP following the discovery of an £81.5m gap in the firms’ finances.

The FCA has halted regulated business at a Northern Ireland financial adviser by revoking its Part 4A permissions.

Chartered Financial Planning-based wealth manager Fairstone is planning to increase its number of acquisitions this year after acquiring or part acquiring 24 firms over the past 12 months.