Reducing harm in the Consumer Investment market was identified as a business priority in the FCA’s 2020/21 Business Plan Some areas of the market aren’t working well enough for consumers. This call for input looks across the whole market and considers whether there are systemic issues that need to be fixed.
Why we are consulting
The consumer investment market allows people to provide for later life, to save for major expenses or for a property, and can help them deal with unexpected shocks.
A well-functioning market also channels money to companies looking to grow and innovate, supporting the UK economy. This will be even more important as the UK recovers from the economic effects of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.
While much of the consumer investment market meets the goals of retail investors, there are some areas where we think it is not working as well as it should and where change is needed. Regulating this market will need to balance a consumer’s freedom to choose with the need to protect consumers from harm, and to foster the innovation and competition that new entrants bring with the need to stop 'bad actors' thriving. We will use the responses to this Call for Input in putting forward a regulatory framework that enables us to realise our ambition in the Consumer Investments market.
Who this applies to
This call for input will be of interest to a very wide range of consumers, firms and other interested parties including:
- Consumers and consumer organisations
- Firms including:
- Financial advisers
- Sole advisers
- Investment managers
- Asset managers
- Wealth managers
- Insurers
- Appointed reps
- Governmental bodies, policy makers and think tanks
Next steps
We’ve split the issue into the areas we think are causing the most harm right now, are least understood by consumers, or where change can unlock the most benefit. We set out the issues as we see them, some of the ideas for change and we ask what you think.
The call for input is now closed.
We will use the feedback we get to shape our work over the next 3 years and share with Government any views or insights on matters that are for them.
The FCA is also consulting on making our temporary ban on marketing certain high-risk investments permanent[2] and extending them to some similar securities.