Over the next decade at least 18 million people could be offered extra help with their investments and pensions with the introduction of targeted support by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
The ground-breaking new service will allow firms to make specific suggestions to consumers – so they can make better informed decisions about what to do with their money.
The need for greater support is stark. According to the latest FCA data, there were around 7 million adults in the UK with £10,000 or more in cash savings who could be missing out on the benefits of investing throughout their lives. Less than 1 in 10 people obtain regulated financial advice. However, nearly 1 in 5 turn to family, friends or social media for help making decisions.
Sarah Pritchard, deputy chief executive of the FCA, said,
“Targeted support will be game changing. It means millions of people can get extra help to make better financial decisions.
“We also hope it will build greater confidence to invest. While investing will not be right for everyone, we know people in the UK invest less compared to the EU or US. People in the UK could be missing out on the potential benefits of investing in the medium to long term.”
What can people expect with targeted support?
Targeted Support is a flexible and futureproof framework underpinned by the Consumer Duty. It will enable firms to innovate and better support their customers.
Consumers will receive recommendations, but they will not be based on a full, in-depth individual assessment. Firms will need to make sure the recommendations are suitable and should only be offered when it puts consumers in a better position.
Earlier this week we finalised changes to the way that firms disclose information to consumers through new rules for retail disclosures (CCIs) to further support people making better informed decisions.
The FCA are also consulting on ways to further modernise pension rules including projections and non-advised defined contribution transfers to strengthen consumer protection as part of wider government and regulatory reforms.
