{"id":19971,"date":"2020-03-10T12:09:13","date_gmt":"2020-03-10T12:09:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/smh.group\/?p=19971"},"modified":"2023-02-15T13:45:04","modified_gmt":"2023-02-15T13:45:04","slug":"the-regulator-identifies-potential-areas-of-harm-for-investors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/devstagesite.co.uk\/smhgroup\/the-regulator-identifies-potential-areas-of-harm-for-investors\/","title":{"rendered":"The regulator identifies potential \u2018areas of harm\u2019 for investors"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>With individual investors now exposed to direct marketing of some\nproducts, the UK financial regulator has spelled out which parts of the\npersonal investment market it is most worried about. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cSustained low interest rates have suppressed returns in safer asset\nclasses, resulting in many consumers deciding to take on more risk in the\nsearch for yield. It has led to some being tempted by promised returns from\nhigh risk, and sometimes fraudulent, investments.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So says the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in its document \u2018Sector\nViews: Key areas of harm identified\u2019, published mid-February. What the FCA is\ndescribing in formal terms is how private investors looking for an income from\ntheir capital are being forced to look beyond deposit accounts and opening\nthemselves up to more risk in doing so. The extent of that additional risk is\nnot always evident to investors who haven\u2019t sought professional advice, as has\nbeen evident in the fall out from London Capital &amp; Finance (LC&amp;F).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>LC&amp;F promoted \u2018mini-bonds\u2019, which themselves are not directly\nregulated by the FCA. In the wake of LC&amp;F\u2019s demise in December 2018 amid\ninvestor losses, the FCA introduced new rules to prevent the mass-marketing of\nsuch products to the general public. However, the ban did not come into effect\nuntil the start of 2020 and is only for 12 months\nwhile the FCA consults on permanent rules. According to the FCA, by the end of\n2018, \u201c1.2% of British adults held retail or mini-bonds \u2013 many with little\nregulatory protection.\u201d <strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The regulator recognises that \u201c\u2026risky investments have been directly\ntargeted at consumers, leaving them more directly exposed to risk\u201d. The direct approach means that the \u2018consumer\u2019 is not offered any\nregulated advice and will not receive any unless they talk to a financial\nadviser. Without advice, the adage that \u2018if it looks too good to be true, it\nprobably is\u2019 does not seem as be as effective as it once was. That is probably\nanother consequence of ultra-low interest rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you find yourself considering an investment that offers higher returns than normal, especially if it is being directly promoted, remember that adage. Then, if you are still tempted, make sure to take independent advice before acting (<em>not<\/em> the other way around). <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/devstagesite.co.uk\/smhgroup\/financial-services\/\">SMH Financial Services<\/a><\/span><\/strong> are here to help. Drop us a line on <strong>0114 266 4432<\/strong> or <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"mailto:info@smhca.co.uk\">info@smhca.co.uk<\/a><\/span><\/strong> to discuss your <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/devstagesite.co.uk\/smhgroup\/financial-services\/investment-options\/\">personal investment strategy<\/a><\/span><\/strong> with one of our Chartered Financial Planners.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With individual investors now exposed to direct marketing of some products, the UK financial regulator has spelled out which parts of the personal investment market it is most worried about. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":16988,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[487,98,429,77,97,488],"class_list":["post-19971","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-financial-services","tag-fca","tag-financial-advice","tag-financial-conduct-authority","tag-financial-planning","tag-investments","tag-uk-financial-regulator"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.9 - 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