FCA prohibits IFA from providing financial advice

The FCA has banned independent financial adviser Advantage Wealth Management (AWM) from providing financial advice on the back of concerns the firm is not being managed prudently.

A supervisory notice was issued by the regulator in December 2025 outlining its concerns that AWM is “not being managed in a way that ensures that its affairs are conducted in a sound and prudent manner”.

The FCA’s specific concerns include:

• Treatment of customers – the FCA has concerns about the circumstances in which several AWM customers had their investments moved into cash holdings.
• Appropriate financial resources – the FCA is not satisfied that AWM has or will have appropriate financial resources.
• Levels of cooperation – AWM has not been open and cooperative

As such the firm is now prohibited from conducting any regulated activities without the FCA’s prior written consent, which means it can no longer act as an independent financial adviser or provide financial advice.