Methodology

How we collect, structure and validate independent cross-provider intelligence for Consumer Duty compliance and the FCA's targeted support regime (PS25/22).

Why Independent Data

The Case for Third-Party Evidence

The FCA's Consumer Duty and targeted support regime (PS25/22) require firms to demonstrate that their consumer segmentation reflects genuine customer outcomes, not internal assumptions. Firms that rely on their own transaction data to build segments face a structural conflict of interest: the data they use to identify vulnerable or underserved consumers comes from the same systems they are being assessed on.

Wealth Intelligence provides an independent evidence layer. Our data is captured from consumer financial planning tools operated by TFE Group, entirely separate from any provider's own systems. This means the segments, switching signals and behavioural patterns we identify are free from provider bias, giving compliance teams credible third-party evidence for board reporting and regulatory submissions.

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Independent of Provider Systems
All data originates from TFE-owned consumer tools. No provider transaction data, no internal CRM feeds, no purchased panels.
Regulatory-Grade Evidence
Designed to support Consumer Duty annual assessments, targeted support compliance and FCA supervisory enquiries with documented methodology.
Data Collection

Behavioural Data from Real Financial Decisions

Wealth Intelligence data is captured from consumer financial modelling environments operated across the TFE Group network. These are real-world planning tools used by UK households to make genuine financial decisions, including ISA provider selection, pension drawdown strategies, protection calculations and investment allocations.

Every data point represents an actual decision event: a consumer comparing providers, modelling a withdrawal strategy, or evaluating a product. This is not survey data, panel data or scraped data. It is first-party behavioural intelligence captured at the point of decision, providing the cross-provider view that no single firm can generate internally.

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First-Party Capture
All data originates from TFE-owned consumer tools. No third-party data sources, no purchased panels, no synthetic generation.
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Continuous Collection
Data is captured continuously as consumers interact with our planning environments. Monthly datasets reflect the latest complete reporting period.
Sampling

Sample Composition and Coverage

Our dataset currently tracks thousands of UK households actively modelling financial decisions each month, across 57+ financial providers. The sample spans multiple product categories including ISAs, pensions, protection and investments.

Behavioural modelling datasets do not require the same sample sizes as opinion surveys. Because we capture actual decision events rather than stated preferences, smaller samples produce statistically robust signals. Each observation represents a real financial planning interaction with multiple data points captured per session.

Coverage Areas

Consumer Duty Alignment

How This Maps to PS25/22 and Consumer Duty

The FCA expects firms to identify consumer segments that may need targeted support based on characteristics, behaviours and outcomes. Our methodology directly supports this by providing:

This evidence is designed to complement a firm's own data, providing the external perspective that internal analytics cannot deliver. Consumer Duty teams can use Wealth Intelligence datasets as independent corroboration when reporting to their boards and the FCA.

Bias Mitigation

Addressing Sampling Bias

Any behavioural dataset carries potential biases. We take active steps to identify and mitigate these where possible, and are transparent about known limitations.

What We Do

Known Considerations

Our sample is drawn from digitally engaged consumers using online financial planning tools. This skews towards people who are actively planning their finances, which may differ from the broader UK population. We consider this a feature rather than a limitation: our data captures the behaviour of people who are actively making financial decisions, which is precisely the audience most relevant to Consumer Duty segmentation and targeted support identification.

Dataset Structure

What the Data Contains

Each intelligence product is built from aggregated behavioural events across the reporting period. The underlying dataset is structured around decision events, each capturing multiple dimensions of a single financial planning interaction.

Aggregated Behavioural Events

Derived Intelligence

Privacy & Ethics

Data Privacy and Anonymisation

No personally identifiable information (PII) is captured at any stage of data collection. All data is anonymised at source: our consumer planning tools do not require registration or personal details to use.

The data we collect is purely behavioural: what people do, not who they are. We capture choices, preferences and modelling parameters, never names, email addresses or account numbers.

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No PII at Source
Consumer tools operate without registration. No personal data is collected, stored or processed at any point in the pipeline.
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Aggregated Reporting
All intelligence is reported at aggregate level. Individual consumer behaviour is never identifiable in our reports or datasets.
Quality Assurance

Data Quality and Validation

Before any data enters our reporting pipeline, it undergoes automated quality checks to ensure integrity and consistency.

Questions about our methodology?

We welcome scrutiny. If you have questions about our data, sampling, or our approach to Consumer Duty evidence, get in touch.