FCA proposes tougher marketing rules
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has proposed tougher new rules to reduce the risk of illegal, unfair or misleading financial marketing.
The City regulator plans to introduce new checks for authorised firms which require them to prove that they have the right expertise to offer their financial promotions.
Firms must also regularly report back to the FCA on any financial promotions that they are already offering.
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“Social media and online advertising means that consumers are taking less time between seeing a promotion and making a financial decision,” said Sarah Pritchard, the FCA’s executive director of markets.
“It is, therefore, essential that they are equipped with the right information at the right time so that they can make good financial decisions. This is especially important as we face the rising cost of living.
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“These proposals will ensure those approving ads have the appropriate expertise and are held accountable for the promotions they sign off.”
The FCA has been working to toughen up the rules around advertising for high-risk investments in recent years. Between January and October 2022, the regulator removed more or amended more than 5,000 financial promotions from authorised firms, compared to 564 in 2021.
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