The FCA and Treasury have published a joint discussion paper (DP23/5) which outlines proposals to help people make more informed investment and pensions decisions. The proposals form part of the Advice Guidance Boundary Review which was announced in the Edinburgh Reforms in December 2022.
The paper explains that consumers can find it difficult to recognise when they need support and, when they do, their needs are not being fully met. DP23/5 sets out the following proposals to close this “advice gap”:
- further clarifying the boundary – further clarification would enable firms to give more support to consumers without providing a personal recommendation under the existing framework
- targeted support – the FCA and Treasury want to explore a new regulatory framework to enable firms to broaden the support they can provide to consumers
- simplified advice – following the feedback from CP22/24, this proposal aims to explore a simplified form of advice that enables firms to support consumers with simpler needs and smaller sums to invest in a commercially viable way.
Comments must be in by 28 February 2024.
General insurance, mortgages, debt advice and advising on DB transfers are out of scope of the review.