The FCA and industry implemented the changes to the high net worth exemption by 31 January 2024 as required under the law.
These changes were taken forward after detailed consultation and recommendations made by the Treasury Select Committee[1] in 2021 that the government should re-evaluate the appropriateness of the Financial Promotion Order exemptions.
We will continue to work with the government on how the financial promotions regime can be strengthened to avoid consumer harm, while ensuring access to sustainable sources of investment for growing businesses.
As we did ahead of the consultation, we would be happy to provide support as part of a detailed examination of the potential impact of any reversal.
We have previously set out[2] that the UK’s definition of a high net worth investor is an international outlier, with a far lower threshold than comparable jurisdictions.
In our last perimeter report, we suggested the criteria for investors to be classified as ‘sophisticated’ should be tightened. This is to avoid the risk, which has occurred in many situations of investment fraud or misconduct, of ordinary investors self-classifying, often under pressure or through coaching, and buying risky investments that do not match their appetite or capacity for loss.