Banks get power to suggest how savers can get better returns - but it isn't financial advice
Banks and investment companies will soon be able to offer savers 'targeted support' to help them manage their money better, in one of the biggest shake-ups of financial advice rules for a decade.
The firms will be able to make suggestions as to where they could move their money to make it work harder, under new rules being brought in by the City watchdog.
This will not fall into the realm of regulated financial advice, for which they would have to meet costly restrictions.
Under the plans, The Financial Conduct Authority will allow firms to make generic suggestions on what they could do with their money, based on what other people with similar circumstances to them are doing with theirs.
This could include suggesting to people who are holding 'too much' cash, that they could move some of it to stocks and shares to get better returns.
It could also be used in situations where firms identify a customer is under-saving for retirement.
Under the new rules, firms could suggest an alternative pension contribution rate.
The existing regulation has made it difficult for firms to offer anything beyond basic information to non-advised customers without risking straying over the boundary from guidance to advice.
Firms including Hargreaves Lansdown and Vanguard are gearing up to offer such services.
To participate in targeted support, firms must obtain a 'Part 4A' permission from the FCA, which is permission to carry out regulated financial activity, even if they are already authorised.
They must identify the situations, groups of customers, and ready-made suggestions they will offer. These will not constitute personal recommendations, but rather behavioural nudges.
Simon Harrington, head of public affairs at the Personal Investment Management & Financial Advice Association said: 'We believe [this] can be transformational to the way in which UK consumers interact and engage with their finances, and pension savings in particular.'
At the moment, those who seek formal financial advice relatively late in life and when they already have a significant level of wealth.
New clients typically approach a financial adviser with an investment portfolio of over £400,000, and the average advised investor is aged around 60, according to research from The Lang Cat.
The FCA found that 7million people hold more than £10,000 in cash which could be making better returns. Of those who did not receive financial advice, but hold £10,000 or more in cash savings, 24 per cent said they don't invest because they don't know enough about it.
More than half of savers would welcome support when they need to decide whether to invest excess savings, according to the FCA.
Targeted support will not replace regulated financial advice, but it has the potential to help millions of savers who do not, or cannot afford, to receive financial advice.
Steven Levin, chief executive of investment platform Quilter, said: 'Targeted support won't replace full advice – and nor should it – but it could become a vital stepping stone on the path to comprehensive financial planning.'
Sarah Pritchard, deputy chief executive of the FCA, added: 'These once-in-a-generation reforms will help people navigate their financial lives and give them greater confidence to invest.
'This is a win-win for consumers and firms alike.'
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