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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFor an FCA-authorised firm discussing investments, the practical dividing line is usually whether it makes a personal recommendation. A statement becomes a personal recommendation when it concerns a particular investment action and is presented as suitable for you, or is based on your circumstances, rather than being information issued exclusively to the public. General information and some forms of guidance can sit outside that boundary, but they are not automatically free of regulation. Communications must still be clear, fair and not misleading, and the FCA’s Consumer Duty can apply.
This explanation applies to the United Kingdom and focuses on investment support from FCA-authorised firms. The legal result can change with the activity, product, firm permissions and the precise wording and context of a communication. The FCA Handbook and current FCA guidance should be checked for a live case.
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The short answer: look for a personal recommendation
“Advice” and “guidance” are not universal legal opposites across every financial service. In the FCA’s investment-perimeter guidance for authorised persons, the key question is whether the firm has made a personal recommendation. The fact that a conversation sounds like advice, or that a provider calls a service “guidance”, does not decide the issue.
A recommendation is generally personal when all of the following are present:
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- It is made to someone as an investor or potential investor.
- It concerns a particular investment action, such as buying, selling, holding, redeeming an investment or exercising a right attached to it.
- It is presented as suitable for that person, or is based on consideration of that person’s circumstances.
- It is not issued exclusively to the public.
The FCA Handbook’s PERG 8.30B guidance on this test was updated on 27 March 2026. Suitability can be implied; a firm does not have to use words such as “this is suitable for you” for a personal recommendation to arise.
By contrast, a public explanation of how an ISA differs from a pension, a budgeting tool, or a discussion that helps someone understand risks without recommending a particular investment may fall outside the personal-recommendation test. The whole communication still matters, so these are not blanket safe harbours.
How the FCA test works
1. Is the person being addressed as an investor?
The test is aimed at communications to someone acting, or considering acting, as an investor. Educational material aimed at the general public is less likely to meet this element. A one-to-one exchange with a customer who is deciding what to do with savings is more likely to be analysed as investment support directed to an investor.
2. Is there a particular investment action?
The communication must relate to a concrete action. Examples include buying a named fund or share, selling an existing holding, continuing to hold it, redeeming units, or exercising a right associated with an investment. Explaining investment concepts without moving towards a particular action is different from telling a person what to do with a specified product.
3. Is suitability stated or implied?
A recommendation can be personal if the firm says, expressly or by implication, that an option fits the customer. Phrases such as “the right choice for you”, “this would suit your objectives” or “given your circumstances, you should choose…” point towards suitability. The absence of those exact words does not prevent the conclusion if the overall message has that effect.
4. Were the customer’s circumstances considered?
Relevant circumstances can include information gathered about objectives, time horizon, capacity for loss, existing investments or other financial needs. A firm does not necessarily need a formal fact-find for the test to matter: the question is whether the recommendation is based on, or presented by reference to, the person’s circumstances.
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5. Was the message issued exclusively to the public?
Material published exclusively to the public, such as a general article or market explanation, is treated differently from a recommendation directed to an identified customer. A message can still be delivered through a digital channel and be personal if it is generated or presented for an individual. Public availability alone does not make a communication generic if the firm separately tailors it to the recipient.
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Advice and guidance compared
| Question | General guidance or information | Personal recommendation |
|---|---|---|
| Audience | Usually public or not directed to a person as an investor. | Directed to an individual as an investor or potential investor. |
| Action | Explains options, features, risks or processes without selecting a particular investment action. | Concerns a particular action, such as buying, selling, holding or redeeming. |
| Personal circumstances | May discuss circumstances to clarify a question without recommending an investment. | Based on circumstances or presented as suitable for the individual. |
| Provider status | The firm still needs the permissions relevant to what it actually does. | The firm must be authorised and permitted for the regulated activity; additional rules can apply to the product or transaction. |
| Main conduct focus | Clear, fair and not misleading communications and applicable Consumer Duty obligations. | Those obligations plus the detailed rules applying to personal recommendations, including suitability requirements where relevant. |
This table describes the usual investment-advice boundary, not a universal classification for mortgages, insurance, credit, pensions or every other regulated activity. Each activity has its own perimeter and permission requirements.
Examples of guidance that may stay outside a personal recommendation
Explaining products without choosing one
The FCA gives the example of explaining the difference between an ISA and a pension. That explanation can help a consumer understand tax wrappers and access rules without selecting a particular investment for them. It becomes more sensitive if the firm moves from explaining the products to telling the person which named investment to buy because it suits their objectives.
Pointing to budgeting or planning tools
Directing a customer to a budgeting tool can support decision-making without being a personal recommendation. The tool’s output and any surrounding communication must still be considered. A generic calculator is different from a firm using a person’s inputs to direct them into a specified investment as suitable.
Discussing circumstances without recommending an investment
A conversation can explore income, debts, time horizon or concerns so the customer understands the issues they need to consider. If the firm does not recommend a particular investment action, that discussion may remain outside the personal-recommendation definition. The boundary should be reassessed if the conversation later selects a product.
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Explaining drawbacks and risks
The FCA identifies support that helps customers understand drawbacks, such as the risks of keeping excess cash or losing valuable pension benefits in a transfer. Warning about a risk is not the same as recommending a particular investment. However, steering a person towards a named replacement product while referring to their circumstances can cross the boundary.
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These examples are context-dependent. A disclaimer or a “guidance only” label cannot neutralise a message that in substance recommends a particular investment as suitable.
What obligations still apply to guidance?
Guidance is not a regulatory vacuum. The FCA says an authorised firm can give advice without making a personal recommendation, and that communication remains subject to high-level requirements including being clear, fair and not misleading. The Consumer Duty can also apply even where the detailed personal-recommendation rules do not.
The Consumer Duty principle
The FCA’s consumer principle is: “A firm must act to deliver good outcomes for retail customers.” The framework has three cross-cutting rules:
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- Avoid causing foreseeable harm.
- Enable and support customers to pursue their financial objectives.
It also covers four outcomes:
- Products and services.
- Price and value.
- Consumer understanding.
- Consumer support.
For a guidance service, those obligations can affect how options are described, whether important limitations and risks are understandable, how customers are supported when they are stuck, and whether the service produces good outcomes for the intended retail audience. The FCA’s Consumer Duty page was published and updated on 24 February 2026.
What changes when a firm makes a personal recommendation?
A personal recommendation brings the detailed conduct regime for that activity into focus. For investments, suitability rules generally require the firm to assess whether the recommendation is appropriate for the customer’s objectives, knowledge and experience, financial situation and ability to bear losses, as applicable to the product and service.
The exact rule set depends on the investment and the service. The FCA’s automated-advice guidance, last updated 27 October 2025, points firms making personal recommendations on designated investments to the applicable suitability rules. It also notes separate rules for pension transfers, conversions and opt-outs. A recommendation involving a pension transfer therefore cannot be assessed solely by asking whether the conversation was labelled advice or guidance.
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Firms should be able to explain the basis of a recommendation, the information they relied on and the risks or limitations communicated. Customers should ask what service they are receiving, whether the firm is making a personal recommendation, and what information it needs before doing so.
Why labels and disclaimers are unreliable
Firms sometimes use terms such as “guided”, “educational”, “self-directed” or “non-advised”. Those labels describe a service model but do not determine the legal outcome. The FCA’s approach looks at substance and context. If a provider gathers personal information and then presents a named investment as suitable, the communication may be personal even if a screen says “this is not advice”.
The reverse is also true: a conversation that sounds advisory is not automatically a personal recommendation. A representative may explain risks, compare features or help a customer understand a decision without selecting a particular investment or presenting it as suitable. Analyse what was said, to whom, about which action, and on what basis.
Targeted support: a developing middle ground
The FCA and HM Treasury’s Advice Guidance Boundary Review is developing targeted support. Under the proposed approach described by the FCA, firms can offer suggestions to groups of customers who share common characteristics, rather than giving a fully individual personal recommendation. It is a distinct regime with conduct standards alongside the Consumer Duty, and the FCA’s review page says it is accepting applications for targeted-support permissions.
Targeted support should not be confused with either generic public information or an individual recommendation. A suggestion to a defined group may be more tailored than a public article but less individually assessed than full advice. The review’s objective is to improve access to help while retaining consumer protections. Because implementation may change, firms and consumers should check the FCA’s live Advice Guidance Boundary Review material before relying on the status of a particular service.
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- Identify the provider and permission. Confirm the firm’s FCA authorisation and the activities it is permitted to conduct. Being authorised for one financial service does not automatically authorise investment advice.
- Write down the action being discussed. Is the firm explaining a concept, or telling you to buy, sell, hold, redeem or transfer a particular investment?
- Check whether the message is personal. Note whether the firm used your objectives, finances, existing holdings, risk tolerance or other circumstances, or said that an option was suitable for you.
- Ask the firm to classify the service. Request a plain-language answer to whether it is providing information, guidance, targeted support or a personal recommendation, and ask what rules and protections apply.
- Read the limitations. Check whether the service excludes certain products, does not assess your whole financial position, or leaves the final selection to you.
- Keep records. Save emails, suitability reports, chat transcripts and screen messages. They show what was recommended, what information was used and what warnings were given.
- Escalate uncertainty before acting. If the decision involves a pension transfer, conversion, opt-out or a complex investment, ask which specialist rules apply and whether you need a regulated personal recommendation.
Common situations and how the boundary may apply
A public article comparing an ISA and a pension
This is ordinarily general information. It explains product characteristics to a public audience and does not select a particular investment. A reader still needs to consider their own circumstances before acting.
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Question-and-answer technology does not change the test. If the system uses the customer’s answers and presents a named fund as suitable, the firm should treat the interaction as potentially making a personal recommendation and apply the relevant suitability and permission rules.
A support agent warns about losing valuable pension benefits
Explaining the drawback of a transfer can be supportive guidance. It is not, by itself, a recommendation to buy a particular replacement investment. The analysis changes if the agent then directs the customer to a named product as suitable for them.
A firm says “you may want to consider” a named investment
Polite or conditional wording does not settle the question. Consider whether the statement is directed to the customer, concerns a specific action, reflects their circumstances and conveys suitability. Implicit suitability can be enough.
Questions to ask before relying on a firm’s help
- Are you FCA-authorised, and does your permission cover this investment service?
- Are you providing information, guidance, targeted support or a personal recommendation?
- Will you assess my circumstances, and which circumstances will you consider?
- Will you recommend a particular investment action or leave the choice to me?
- What suitability, disclosure and complaint protections apply to this service?
- Are pension transfers, conversions or opt-outs included, excluded or subject to separate rules?
- What information should I receive after the interaction, and how can I challenge an error?
If you need a recommendation tailored to your objectives and finances, use a firm whose FCA permission covers the relevant advice and ask for the scope of the service in writing. If you only need to understand concepts or risks, a guidance service may be useful, but you remain responsible for checking whether the information is complete and appropriate to your decision.
Key points to remember
- The investment boundary is generally the presence of a personal recommendation, not the mere use of the word “advice”.
- The FCA test considers the investor, a particular investment action, suitability or personal circumstances, and whether the communication was issued exclusively to the public.
- Public information and supportive discussions can fall outside the test, but context and the whole communication matter.
- Guidance still has to meet communication standards and can be subject to the Consumer Duty.
- Targeted support is a separate, permissioned development for suggestions to groups with common characteristics.
- Product type, provider permission and the transaction—especially pension transfers, conversions and opt-outs—can change the applicable rules.
Sarah Pritchard, the FCA’s Executive Director, Markets, said: It is vital that people get the help they need to make effective decisions – whether that be guidance or full financial advice from a qualified financial adviser.
The practical lesson is to identify what the firm actually did, rather than relying on the label attached to the service.
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