The Financial Conduct Association’s push to expand consumer access to investments is positive – if advice boundaries, consumer outcomes and firm capabilities evolve together. Robert Ord, consulting partner at global management, financial services and technology consultancy Capco, comments on the FCA’s discussion paper on the move, which has recently closed.
The FCA’s ambition to expand consumer access to investments is both necessary and timely. Too much UK capital remains in cash, limiting long-term household wealth creation and constraining economic growth. Enabling more consumers to participate in investment markets is therefore more than regulatory reform – it is a structural growth imperative.
But expanding access is not the same as delivering better outcomes. The regulator is attempting to balance two forces that are inherently in tension: encouraging consumers to take appropriate investment risk while maintaining strong consumer protection under Consumer Duty. Success will depend not on widening product availability, but on whether firms can industrialise responsible risk-taking.
For consumers, “fair access” must extend beyond simply broadening the range of investment options available. It should encompass clear communication of risk, transparent pricing, appropriate safeguards for more complex products, and confidence that firms are actively monitoring customer outcomes. Access without genuine understanding will erode, rather than build, trust – particularly in a fast-moving digital environment where products are easily accessible and levels of financial literacy vary widely.
For firms, this is a deeper transformation than it first appears. The persistent uncertainty between advice and guidance remains a structural constraint. Without greater clarity, firms risk either underserving customers through excessive caution or operating too close to regulatory boundaries. Expanding access without addressing this gap simply shifts risk rather than resolving it.
The opportunity lies less in new products and more in re-engineering the investment journey. That means moving beyond static risk questionnaires towards dynamic risk profiling, embedding behavioural insight into customer engagement, and investing in data capabilities that allow firms to evidence good outcomes at scale. Innovation in this context is not primarily a product question; it’s a governance and infrastructure question.
There is risk in standing still, but also in pursuing frictionless growth without robust controls. The firms that succeed will be those that treat this as a supervisory reset: investing now in the architecture needed to understand customer behaviour, identify vulnerability, and demonstrate that increased access translates into sustainable participation.
If this policy shift is to drive lasting growth, access and accountability must advance together. The real differentiator will be the strength of firms’ governance, data and behavioural oversight capabilities.
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