Speech by Lucy Castledine, director of consumer investments, at the TISA Inclusive Investing Conference 2026.
Speaker: Lucy Castledine, director, consumer investments
Event: TISA Inclusive Investing Conference 2026
Delivered: 4 March 2026
Note: this is the speech as drafted and may differ from the delivered version.
Reading time: 11 minutes
Key points:
- Consumer investments are a cornerstone of the UK economy, with over 5,000 authorised firms and their representatives, serving 19 million adults – around a third of our population. Our sector safeguards the future of individuals and families up and down the country.
- Building a stronger investment culture is critical for consumers’ financial lives. We’re excited to work with firms on plans such as targeted support.
- For a strong investment culture, consumers need trust, confidence in good consumer outcomes, and reassurance in strong financial crime controls.
- Through all this, we recognise that the consumer investments landscape is changing – and we want to hear from firms.
Introduction
The TISA Inclusive Investing Conference, with its focus on policy, regulation, education, and practical tools, is both timely and vital. It is through open dialogue, sharing ideas, and working in partnership that we can best deliver positive change for consumers and for the wider market. We look forward to hearing perspectives from industry leaders, policy makers, and, crucially, those championing new approaches to support and empower investors.
I’m here to give you the view from the regulator, but I’m conscious that you have heard quite a lot from us recently. Hopefully you’ve had some time to recover from our bumper December 2025, with a whole host of publications, including our final rules for Consumer Composite Investments (CCIs)[2] and targeted support[3], consultations on client categorisation[4] and changes to pensions[5], and a discussion paper on expanding consumer access to investments[6].
Whilst we have been busy, we are always looking ahead, and planning for what is coming next. And that is what I’ll be sharing with you today – our vision for the market and our priorities for the year ahead.
The importance of the sector
But before I get onto that, I want to start with the big picture.
Consumer investments are a cornerstone of the UK economy, with over 5,000 authorised firms and their representatives, serving 19 million adults – around a third of our population. Our sector channels funds into growth, innovation, and, importantly, safeguards the future of individuals and families up and down the country.
Yet, we know that too many people are still held back from investing – by a lack of confidence, lack of support, or lack of knowledge. We also know that many who could benefit from investing are currently sitting on significant cash balances, missing out on opportunities to build their wealth and resilience.
Our Financial Lives survey[7] tells us that over half (54%) of those who have £10,000 in cash savings – who are not advised – had never thought about investing before. Inclusive investing, therefore, is not just the right thing to do; it is essential to unlocking long-term prosperity for individuals and society as a whole.
The market is dynamic and evolving. Technology and lifestyle changes are reshaping how people invest, with digital platforms and social media opening new avenues – but also bringing new risks.
So against this backdrop, what are our priorities, and where will we be focussing in the year ahead?
Our Regulatory Priorities report
Well, I’m pleased to announce that today we have published our new Regulatory Priority report[8].
This new report replaces a myriad of portfolio letters we used to issue in the past. Published annually, it sets out our areas of focus for the sector from a policy and supervisory perspective, as well as our expectations of firms. Giving all firms in the Consumer Investment market a clear, succinct one-stop-shop.
This marks a major refresh of how we communicate with firms – and an important part of our work to be a smarter regulator – predictable, purposeful and proportionate.
Our report will be relevant to financial advisers, wealth managers, SIPP operators, investment platforms, crowdfunding platforms, peer-to-peer lenders and contract for difference providers. The report should act as a guide for firms’ boards and chief executives. You should read these reports carefully – and act where you need to.
This is a must-read but let me give you some highlights.
We have 4 clear priorities for Consumer Investments:
- Building a stronger investment culture
- Strengthening trust
- Securing good customer outcomes
- Strengthening financial crime controls
Our priorities underpin the FCA’s overarching strategic priorities to help consumers, support growth, fight crime and be a smarter regulator.
We are committed to building a stronger investment culture – a culture where consumers feel confident to invest. That means ensuring people have the right support, guidance, and information to make decisions that align with their needs and risk tolerance. We want firms to communicate clearly, avoid jargon, and provide balanced, transparent information about costs, benefits, and risks.
Changes we have made to disclosures through CCIs will help, and we are continuing this work by reviewing MiFID requirements. We will also work with the industry to communicate risk and rewards in a balanced way.
By transforming the support and information consumers receive, we aim to empower investors to manage their savings for their long-term financial health. This will mean some consumers take more investment risk and may mean investment losses, sometimes without compensation. Taking a long-term approach, being prepared for downs as well as ups, and financial education will be crucial in creating the right investment culture.
We are also committed to strengthening trust. Trust is the bedrock of any successful market, and key to supporting and increasing consumer engagement with investing. Firms must have strong controls, governance and compliance procedures to build trust, manage risks, protect consumers and enable sustainable innovation, particularly when working with new technologies. Acting quickly when risks emerge, being accountable and delivering fair value are all essential.
We’ll support firms who want to test their AI propositions through with our sandboxes, progress our review of model portfolio service providers and work with firms to ensure good practice across the sector. All work designed to support building trust.
To build consumer confidence, firms must deliver good outcomes. This is the core of good service but also core to the Consumer Duty. Products and services must meet real consumer needs, including those in vulnerable circumstances.
We’ll consult on applying the Consumer Duty across distribution chains and continue our engagement with firms on the Consumer Duty price and value outcome.
We’ll also review feedback on our client categorisation proposals and take a smarter regulatory approach, with visits, engagement, smarter data collections – such as our Platforms Information Request – and innovative policy testing.
At the same time, we’ll work with firms to ensure good outcomes for vulnerable customers, and ensure regulation supports informed risk‑taking by building on work to expand consumer access to investments.
Last but not least, in the next 12 months we want to strengthen financial crime controls.
Financial crime continues to undermine confidence and divert resources away from investment. We expect firms to maintain effective controls to prevent fraud, money laundering, and market abuse. This includes stronger surveillance, enhanced reporting, and effective due diligence – not just for themselves but for their appointed representatives. This will be a focus for us over the next year.
We are partnering with Ofcom and global bodies to tackle online scams and will use our enforcement powers to stop and punish criminal activity, including by so-called 'finfluencers' promoting scams.
Touching on influencers for a moment. Social media is a major source of financial information for many, but we know the devastating impact that illegal influencers can have. We have shown we’re prepared to take action – securing 7 convictions earlier this year, and you will hopefully have seen the sentencing of these individuals announced. However, legitimate influencers can and do play an important role in helping people manage their finances. We will collaborate with legitimate finfluencers to ensure online financial content is legal and compliant. And my call to action from you all today in this regard, is to meet consumers where we know they are turning for support – online.
Our priorities report will be helpful for planning, but we hope that firms look beyond the projects listed in the report and consider the potential impact of getting this right not just for consumers but also for your business and the growth of the market.
Our vision is clear: we want a stronger investment culture and a resilient consumer investment market where more consumers feel confident investing.
We’re committed to working alongside you to make this a reality.
Before I finish, I want to turn to 3 further areas: risk warnings, targeted support and our current discussion paper on consumer access to investments. All topics which are central to our work in building a stronger investment culture and securing good customer outcomes.
Risk warnings
Clear and balanced risk disclosures are not just a regulatory requirement; they are essential to building confidence, trust, and an inclusive investing environment.
Consumers benefit where risk information is contextualised and firms explain the relationship between risk and return.
We have seen from TISA’s own research (PDF)[9] that risk warnings can sometimes deter the investing activity among traditionally under-represented groups – or those with additional characteristics of vulnerability - when not provided with appropriate context.
In December 2025, we published a webpage clarifying our rules around risk warnings[10] for mainstream investments and clearing up common misconceptions, like needing to put 'capital at risk' on all promotions. This has helped remove perceived barriers to firms communicating clear explanations of risks related to investing in mainstream investment products.
Our rules around providing risk information for mainstream investments are deliberately high-level and flexible. We want to create space for you to communicate in a way that genuinely helps your customers understand an investment, both the benefits and risks.
We’ve also been pleased to support the Investment Association's ambitious work with the Investment Risk Delivery Group. This work is important to help clarify how firms can assist consumers navigate their financial lives by communicating in a more engaging and accessible way.
We welcome the feedback we’ve had from industry during this process, particularly around the guidance and expectations that have built up over time. We’re thinking carefully about what more we can do. And we’ll continue to work with firms to clarify our guidance and expectations.
Targeted support
And now moving to targeted support[11], one of our most important initiatives over 2025 and for 2026.
We are now in the final phase before the targeted support regime goes live in April 2026, and momentum across the industry is clear, mirrored by our own preparations.
The authorisations gateway opened on 2 March 2026[12], meaning firms can now apply for permission to offer targeted support to their customers.
In the lead up to opening the gateway, and to ensure consumers can access targeted support at the earliest opportunity, we opened our pre‑application support service (PASS)[13] to targeted support. PASS conversations increase the likelihood of firms providing strong and complete applications; allows firms to discuss their proposals and receive feedback; and reduces the risk of delays or poor quality submissions when the formal application process begins.
And we have been really encouraged by the depth and constructiveness of our engagements with firms, as they set about preparing for launch. Since publication of the policy statement in December 2025, we have observed firms becoming increasingly confident in applying the rules framework, be this through defining their consumer segments; including and excluding characteristics and reasonable assumptions; or building compelling consumer journeys and user experiences.
Whilst the gateway is now open, firms can still access PASS. We encourage any firm that is serious about offering targeted support to engage with us at the earliest opportunity to discuss their plans. To provide further support to firms, we will soon publish additional information to help firms confidently comply with the new rules when defining consumer segments.
Work is also progressing with the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) to develop a consumer-facing webpage. This will mean the public can clearly understand what targeted support is – and what it is not – from the outset, and compare it to other forms of support or advice.
The launch of targeted support is a huge undertaking that should transform the industry. I look forward with excitement to the first firms being authorised and the targeted support regime going live on 6 April 2026.
We want to hear from you
My final request for today is a reminder. With the deadline for responses looming fast – this Friday 6 March – I hope you have all taken time to engage with our discussion paper (DP) on expanding consumer access to investments[6].
In this DP, we focus on our regulatory framework for investments. We recognise the investing landscape has changed, and we want to make sure that our rules support an innovative and competitive market.
We have also listened to firms – we understand that at times our rules can create barriers and challenges.
So this is a final call to action – we want to hear from you. What can we do to make sure our rules help consumers take informed risks and give them confidence to invest.
Conclusion
As I close today, I want to return to our vision for the market: a stronger investment culture and a resilient consumer investment market where more consumers feel confident investing.
None of this can be achieved by the regulator alone. It requires genuine partnership between regulators, firms, industry bodies, policy makers, and, of course, consumers themselves. The conference agenda today – covering policy, education, and the practical tools needed to build confidence – reflects the breadth of what we can accomplish together.
I encourage you to make the most of today’s discussions, share your insights, and take away actionable strategies to strengthen investor protection and engagement. Whether you are working on risk and reward communications, developing new digital tools, or supporting those new to investing, your role is vital to shaping an inclusive and resilient market.
Together, we can ensure that everyone has the confidence, understanding, and opportunity to benefit from investing.
Thank you, and I look forward to working with you all in the year ahead.
