{"id":180176,"date":"2025-12-12T12:29:17","date_gmt":"2025-12-12T12:29:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/180176\/"},"modified":"2025-12-12T12:29:17","modified_gmt":"2025-12-12T12:29:17","slug":"banks-to-offer-targeted-investment-support-after-game-changing-new-rules","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/180176\/","title":{"rendered":"Banks to offer targeted investment support after ‘game changing’ new rules"},"content":{"rendered":"

New measures allow banks and financial firms to to provide investment and pension recommendations from April, based on the needs of similar customer groups.<\/p>\n

The new initiative was authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).<\/p>\n

Sarah Pritchard, deputy chief executive of the FCA, described the change as “game changing” for consumers across the country.<\/p>\n

She said: “It means millions of people can get extra help to make better financial decisions.”<\/p>\n

Ms Pritchard said: “We also hope it will build greater confidence to invest” and added that people in the UK invest less than consumers in the EU or US.<\/p>\n

The regulator believes the reforms will address a substantial gap in financial guidance that has left many people without suitable support.<\/p>\n

FCA research found that nearly one in five adults relied on family, friends or social media for financial decisions.<\/p>\n

The findings also showed just nine per cent of those surveyed received regulated advice on pensions and investments in the year to May 2024.<\/p>\n

According to the FCA, around seven million adults holding \u00a310,000 or more in cash savings could achieve better returns through investing.<\/p>\n

Many who could invest have chosen not to because they felt uncertain about their choices or believed they needed more support to make decisions.<\/p>\n

\"Pensioner\"\/<\/p>\n

New measures from April allow banks and financial firms to offer investment and pension recommendations tailored to similar customer groups<\/p>\n

| <\/p>\n

GETTY<\/p>\n

The regulator noted one in 10 people have no savings, while 21 per cent have less than \u00a31,000 available for emergencies.<\/p>\n

Targeted support will fall between general guidance and the fully personalised advice provided by authorised financial advisers for a fee.<\/p>\n

Banks may, for example, outline how large amounts of cash could be placed in investments or how spreading money across different types of assets may reduce risk.<\/p>\n

Ms Pritchard told the BBC: “It’s important that consumers understand what it is and what it isn’t, and it’s not detailed advice.”<\/p>\n

The FCA confirmed the assistance should be free for consumers.<\/p>\n

Ms Pritchard said: “Commission is banned, and we’re expecting most firms that do provide it, subject to our regulation, will be providing it free of charge to consumers.”<\/p>\n

\"Banks<\/p>\n

The help banks can now provide should be free for consumers<\/p>\n

| GETTY \/PA <\/p>\n

Yvonne Braun, director of policy at the Association of British Insurers, said: “The FCA’s new rules mark a significant step towards closing the advice gap and will empower millions.”<\/p>\n

Consumer groups have warned the framework must not become a mechanism for firms to take advantage of customers.<\/p>\n

The FCA has outlined a series of safeguards to protect those receiving targeted support.<\/p>\n

Firms must obtain authorisation before participating, with eligible organisations likely to include banks, building societies, investment platforms and digital wallet providers.<\/p>\n

These firms will be required to show that their recommendations are appropriate and should only offer suggestions where they could leave customers in a better position.<\/p>\n

They must also identify and respond to any customer vulnerabilities.<\/p>\n

Consumers will continue to have the right to refer complaints to the independent financial ombudsman if disputes arise.<\/p>\n

The FCA has additionally launched a “firm checker” tool designed to help the public avoid investment scams.<\/p>\n

The changes will require legislation to proceed, though the Government has expressed support for measures intended to boost investment levels among the public.<\/p>\n

\"Rachel<\/p>\n

This objective underpinned Chancellor Rachel Reeves\u2019s move to cut the annual cash Isa allowance from \u00a320,000 to \u00a312,000 for under\u201165s from April 2027<\/p>\n

| GB NEWS<\/p>\n

The Treasury considers increased investment activity to be a driver of economic growth.<\/p>\n

This objective formed part of Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s decision to reduce the annual cash Isa allowance from \u00a320,000 to \u00a312,000 for people under 65, a change scheduled for April 2027.<\/p>\n

The FCA said that investing carries risks because values can rise or fall, while inflation can erode the purchasing power of cash held in savings.<\/p>\n

The regulator also acknowledged that investing will not be suitable for everyone, particularly given that one in 10 adults have no savings.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"New measures allow banks and financial firms to to provide investment and pension recommendations from April, based on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":180177,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[138,246,300,111,43,139,69,12613,244,245,4578,51066],"class_list":{"0":"post-180176","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-personal-finance","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-finance","10":"tag-money","11":"tag-new-zealand","12":"tag-news","13":"tag-newzealand","14":"tag-nz","15":"tag-pensions","16":"tag-personal-finance","17":"tag-personalfinance","18":"tag-savings","19":"tag-sgg"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180176","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=180176"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180176\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/180177"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=180176"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=180176"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=180176"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}