Mind the gap

It's a familiar warning to anyone who has ever travelled on the London Underground - a reminder to stay alert, watch your step and navigate the space between where you are and where you need to be. Miss it, and you risk a fall. Heed it, and you arrive safely at your destination.

As we prepare to join the PFS National Conference 2025, that message feels powerfully relevant to our profession. The advice sector faces its own critical gaps, and how we bridge them will define the future of financial advice.

The advice gap

Despite progress across the industry, far too many people still don't receive the help they need to make confident financial decisions. That's not just a consumer problem - it's a business risk.

The Advice Guidance Boundary Review offers real hope that this could change, creating a framework where more consumers can access support at the right time, in the right way.

But policy alone won't close the gap. It will take innovation, collaboration and a willingness to rethink the traditional advice model so that technology enhances, rather than replaces, human expertise.

At Focus, we believe technology should extend the reach of advice, empowering advisers to spend more time on meaningful conversations while automation and smart workflows handle the rest.

The talent gap

Another growing challenge is the shortage of qualified advisers. Without fresh talent, the advice gap will only widen and the profession's future is at stake.

As experienced professionals retire, the pipeline of new entrants simply isn't keeping pace with consumer demand.

If we want advice to remain accessible, we need to equip the next generation with modern tools, intuitive systems and digital experiences that make advice delivery efficient and rewarding.

Technology alone isn't the answer, but it can make the profession more attractive, sustainable and scalable.

The innovation gap

There's often tension between innovation and regulation, but the firms that get this balance right will lead the industry and earn lasting client trust.

Innovation done right strengthens compliance and builds consumer trust. Simpler, smarter systems help firms deliver advice that is both personal and consistent, reducing risk while improving outcomes.

As the government and regulators explore how to enable responsible innovation, we have an opportunity to build solutions that combine efficiency, transparency and empathy.

That's the kind of innovation we believe in at Focus: practical, human-centred and purpose-driven.

The generation gap

We're seeing one of the greatest intergenerational wealth transfers in history. If we don't adapt, we risk losing the next generation of clients before we even meet them.

Younger, digitally native clients have new expectations: they want real-time insights, transparent journeys and flexible engagement.

The profession must evolve to meet those expectations while preserving the trust, rigour and empathy that define good advice. It's about combining tradition with transformation and ensuring advice remains relevant for every generation.

See us at the PFS National Conference 2025

Let's bridge the gaps together.

If you're attending the PFS National Conference, come and see us at Stand 63. Share your thoughts on the gaps you're seeing and discover how Focus can help you connect people, processes and technology to deliver advice that's efficient, compliant and truly client-centred.

Register here  |  Learn more about the conference