Emma BondThe FCA has published its third Consumer investments data review. The review provides an overview of FCA’s work to protect consumers from investment harm between April and September 2021. This follows FCA’s publication of its Consumer Investments Strategy.
Key findings for this period include:
- enquiries to the FCA about possible scams remained consistently high in comparison to the previous review (16,400 in total across the 6 months);
- FCA saw an increase in reports about possible cryptocurrency scams and added 172 firms to its Unregistered Cryptoasset Business list;
- FCA published 735 consumer alerts about unauthorised firm (an increase compared to the previous report);
- FCA prevented 32 new firms from entering the consumer investments market, of which the FCA suspected almost 30% involved phoenixing or lifeboating by advice firms;
- the Pensions Team opened 51 cases relating to suitability of pension transfer advice and potential scams; and
- 3 unauthorised individuals had custodial sentences imposed upon them.
The review also summarises steps the FCA is taking to protect consumers, including highlighting its consultation on strengthening its financial promotion rules for high-risk investments, including cryptoassets, as well as its InvestSmart and ScamSmart campaigns.
FCA will publish its next Consumer investments data review later this year.
