Goal-Based Planning: The Strategic Opportunity Financial Advisers Must Embrace

Goal-based planning is transforming the UK financial advice landscape, creating significant opportunities for firms to differentiate themselves, attract new clients, and build sustainable growth. This strategic shift moves beyond traditional product-focused approaches to centre conversations around clients’ life goals—from purchasing a home to funding children’s education or planning for early retirement.

The Regulatory Driver Behind Goal-Based Planning

The introduction of Consumer Duty has accelerated this transformation by reinforcing the need for suitable, outcome-focused advice. As highlighted in a recent Money Marketing analysis, this regulatory framework has moved the profession away from product-led recommendations towards genuinely client-centric planning. The Lang Cat’s State of the Advice Nation 2024-25 report definitively concludes that firms are “increasingly moving away from simply recommending products and instead focusing on helping clients change their financial behaviour over time”.