FCA eyes curbs to the sale of online financial products

Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority said a “strong case” could be made for regulating how financial products are marketed following a surge in online promotions.

“What’s concerning is that we have seen an explosion in the number of high-yield investment opportunities that get offered on the internet,” FCA Chief Executive Andrew Bailey told a news conference.

The marketing material is unregulated, even though the firms publishing them are. What concerns the regulator  is that it is very hard to keep track of all these things. The FCA was in contact with major internet service providers, but they take a fairly limited approach to scrutinising what goes online, Bailey said. Bailey advises people not to buy high-yield investment products on the Web. The FCA’s handling of investment firm London Capital & Finance (LCF), which collapsed in January, is being independently reviewed and one of its conclusions could be to make promotions a regulated activity.