The first FCA Consumer Duty annual board reporting deadline is 31 July.

To comply with the regulator’s new Duty, firms are expected to show in an annual report why or how they think they are complying with delivering good outcomes for retail customers. The report provided to the board should explain if there is anything preventing the firm from complying with the Duty and whether any actions are required

The most common reasons why advisers did not expect to meet the report deadline included an inability to provide sufficient evidence of board engagement with Consumer Duty and incomplete reviews of their approach to vulnerable customers, including assessing whether customer support meets these clients' needs, according to the new report from technology firm Ortec Finance.

Other reasons cited are inadequate reviews of internal governance processes and policies, incomplete staff training, and insufficient evidence of identifying potential consumer harm.

The FCA has reminded firms many times that the Consumer Duty is not a tick box “once and done” exercise, and that firms must be able to evidence in their annual report that they are learning and improving.

Tessa Kuijl, managing director global wealth solutions at Ortec Finance, said: “The FCA’s Consumer Duty Board report deadline is fast approaching, and our research highlights that some wealth management and financial advisor firms still have work to do to meet the deadline. It’s concerning that so many wealth managers and financial advisers doubt their ability to meet the deadline.”

The report from Ortec Finance also found that wealth managers and financial advisers expect an increase in industry fines for non-compliance over the next three years. Eight in ten (78%) of those surveyed anticipated higher fines, while nearly three in four (74%) foresaw increased investment in technology to help address regulatory demands. Over a third (35%) expected a dramatic increase in technology investment.

PureProfile interviewed 50 UK wealth managers and financial advisors on behalf of Ortec Finance during April.