For years, the UK’s “advice gap” has been framed as a financial issue.

Today, that gap is estimated to sit at around £610 billion – a significant volume of consumer wealth held in cash rather than invested productively¹.

For many, it is being realised that capital is not the issue; capability is.

A structural shift is underway in UK wealth management, and high-street banks are once again positioning themselves at the centre of advice delivery. This isn’t a return to pre-2012 models, it’s a strategic reset shaped by regulatory evolution, technological maturity and the need to serve customers at scale.

Talent will determine who capitalises on it.

Why Advice Is Returning to the High Street

Following the 2012 Retail Distribution Review (RDR), many high-street banks stepped back from financial advice. Commission-based sales were removed, compliance obligations increased and serving the mass market became commercially challenging.

Advice consolidated at the higher end of the wealth spectrum, leaving millions without structured guidance.

What has changed now is the regulatory environment.

The Financial Conduct Authority’s Advice Guidance Boundary Review, alongside the proposed introduction of “Targeted Support”, is creating a viable middle ground². Banks will be able to provide structured suggestions to groups of customers with similar characteristics without triggering the full burden of individualised regulated advice.

Implementation is expected from April 2026³.

At the same time, advances in AI and digital infrastructure have significantly reduced the cost to serve. Scalable, hybrid advice models are now commercially realistic. For the first time in over a decade, banks can support the mass affluent segment at scale, not just the ultra-wealthy.

From Relationship-Only to “Phygital” Wealth

The delivery model itself has evolved – wealth management is no longer purely branch-led or relationship-only.

Instead, we are seeing blended approaches emerge:

• AI-driven insights and behavioural nudges

• App-based financial engagement

• Hybrid adviser models

• Digitally embedded suitability and compliance frameworks

Technology is not replacing advisers; it is redefining their role.

The modern wealth professional operates alongside digital systems, delivering structured guidance within increasingly embedded regulatory frameworks. The expectation is not just relationship management, but scalability, consistency and digital fluency.

That shift changes the capability profile required across advice teams.

The Real Constraint: Talent

As banks reposition themselves around the £610bn opportunity, hiring pressure is increasing – often ahead of wider public attention. This is not simply about recruiting more traditional financial advisers.

Demand is emerging across:

• Digital-first wealth advisers

• Advice governance and conduct specialists

• Product and proposition leaders

• AI-enabled planning roles

• Wealth transformation and integration professionals

In many cases, organisations are designing roles that did not exist five years ago. The convergence of technology, regulation and client delivery requires broader, more adaptable skillsets. The advice gap may be measured in hundreds of billions, but the talent gap behind it is measured in capability.

A Structural Reset, Not a Short-Term Cycle

Recent acquisitions and strategic investments signal long-term commitment from major banking institutions. Where capital is deployed strategically, hiring inevitably follows.

Forward-thinking firms are already:

• Redesigning wealth roles around hybrid delivery

• Embedding conduct and governance from the outset

• Mapping future skills requirements rather than reacting to immediate vacancies

• Building scalable team structures aligned to digital advice models

In markets undergoing structural change, reactive hiring rarely delivers long-term stability. Sustainable growth comes from aligning talent strategy with where the market is heading, not where it has been.

The institutions that close the advice gap most effectively will not simply be those with the strongest balance sheets. They will be those that treat capability as a strategic investment.

Looking Ahead

The UK wealth advice market is at an inflection point.

Regulation has evolved, technology has matured, and consumer demand remains significant. The £610bn sitting outside structured advice models represents both opportunity and responsibility.

For organisations building or scaling wealth capability in 2026 and beyond, the question is no longer whether advice is returning to the high street; it’s whether internal capability is evolving at the same pace as the model itself.

We’re here to help

• • If you’re a manager needing assistance with your current or future hiring needs, contact us to be put in touch with a market expert.
  • Have a question? Find out more about the services that can help you here.
  • Looking for more insights? Check out the latest news.