Good morning and welcome to your Morning Briefing for Tuesday 2 December 2025. To get this in your inbox every morning click here.
Budget ‘not as bad as feared’ but advisers warn of long-term uncertainty
Financial advisers have branded the chancellor’s latest Budget as another exercise in “fiddling at the edges”, despite admitting the fiscal package was not as catastrophic for clients as initially feared.
A rapid snapshot survey from the lang cat reveals a profession weary of piecemeal policy changes, with the newly announced cap on salary sacrifice drawing specific criticism.
While the immediate reaction to the Budget was one of relief that a “hammer blow” had been avoided, the prevailing sentiment among intermediaries is deep frustration regarding the lack of substantive structural reform.
Fewer than 5% of advice firms have full AI policy in place
Fewer than 5% of advice firms have a full AI policy in place, a new report by NextWealth has revealed.
The report also shows 79% of firms see compliance and regulation as a key barrier to AI adoption, 19% of which view it as a very significant barrier.
That figure rises to 23% among sole traders.
Meanwhile, over three quarters (77%) regard a lack of a structured due-diligence framework as an obstacle.
Paula Steele: The pitfalls of business protection
Businesses rely on people, and the loss of a key individual or shareholder can destabilise operations, finances, ownership and continuity. Yet despite these risks, business protection remains a chronically underserved market.
Why? The answer often lies not with clients, but within the advisory profession.
Unlike individual protection, business protection requires advisers to enter a client’s commercial world. That means speaking with the owner, accountant and often the spouse whose financial future is implicitly tied to the business.
This higher level of scrutiny can make advisers hesitant, which is the fastest way to lose authority in the boardroom.
Quote Of The Day
The FTSE 100 is struggling to find momentum in the early days of December – not so much a sign of weakness as a lack of catalysts to drive the next leg higher
– Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown, comments on investors’ search for catalysts
The UK payments sector is facing a critical race against time as the deadline for the FCA new safeguarding regime approaches.
Set to shift from guidance to enforceable regulation in May 2026, the new rules demand rigorous operational standards, including daily reconciliations and formal audits.
However, despite the significant compliance overhaul required, a recent poll of industry professionals conducted by Clear Junction and Howden suggests the vast majority of firms are alarmingly unprepared, as the stats show:
78%
of financial firms are unprepared (either in early stages or haven’t started).
59%
are currently in the early stages of preparation.
19%
have not started preparing at all.
22%
are in the advanced stages of preparation.
7%
of firms claim to be fully ready.
58%
cited Next-day (D+1) reconciliations as the biggest operational friction point.
19%
cited managing UK and EU changes without duplication.
13%
cited insurance policy wording that meets FCA requirements.
10%
cited the quality of monthly management information.
Source: Clear Junction and Howden
In Other News
Aberdeen has launched a significantly enhanced native SIPP and a market-leading Junior SIPP on its Wrap platform to bolster intergenerational planning capabilities.
The new proposition features an automated ‘drawdown price lock’, ensuring clients retain lower fee tiers based on peak asset values, even if their pot size subsequently falls.
Additionally, new family linking provisions reduce charges across connected SIPPs and Isas.
Notably, the Junior SIPP incurs no platform charges until age 18. Mark Polson of the lang cat welcomed the “long-awaited” fully integrated solution, stating the price lock remains a “genuinely good idea” for advisers.
7IM has promoted Darren Fancourt to head of operations as the wealth manager accelerates its multi-million-pound platform transformation programme.
Fancourt, a 16-year veteran of the firm, replaces Anthony Higgs, who has relocated to Australia. Previously head of trading and operational change, Fancourt has been pivotal in 7IM’s strategic partnership with fintech provider Tikker.
The reshuffle sees Darren Campbell promoted to deputy head of operations, while Dan Cole is appointed IT director to oversee infrastructure and reporting.
Dan Haselgrove continues as head of pensions & operational control to manage the SIPP proposition.
COO Liz Paradine stated the appointments ensure “robust governance” during the firm’s technological evolution.
From Elsewhere
UK Budget watchdog head quits over early release of Reeves’ Budget (Reuters)
UK house prices defied Budget tax-rise fears, Nationwide says (Bloomberg)
High streets emerge as the biggest losers of Reeves’s shock property tax shake-up (The Telegraph)
Did You See?
Over many years of working as a financial writer, the one lesson I’ve learned is never to tout any investment as the best thing since sliced bread. It will only come back to bite you on the bum.
I wonder of the same applies in reverse, for example to those of us who from time to time warn about the dangers of investing in cryptocurrencies – and then watch from the sidelines as they continue to rise exponentially in value, albeit with occasional reversals.
The question is worth asking, if only because in the past six weeks or so the value of a single Bitcoin has plummeted from a high of more than £92,000 to “just” £69,000 at the time of writing this column.
Four years ago, the last time I wrote on the subject, my nephew Alex – a keen crypto investor – came to stay with us and Bitcoin stood at £32,000. Despite all my warnings of the folly of his “addiction” (in fairness, he was checking his crypto trading app 20 times a day), he has done rather well with his money.
