On 30 October 2025, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) issued a warning to investors about the risks of investing in Contracts for Differences (CFDs) and the implications of giving up retail client protections.

Overview

The FCA explained that it considers CFDs to be complex, high-risk products and that the protections given to retail investors under FCA rules save consumers from millions of pounds of losses each year.

The FCA further set out that is concerned that firms are using high-pressure techniques to encourage investors to claim that they are a professional client, putting them at risk of higher losses, due to the lack of client retail client protections such as leverage limits and client loss protections.

The FCA also found that investors are being targeted by finfluencers using promotional techniques that do not make it clear that they are promoting firms that are unregulated and may be offering unrealistic returns.

Next steps

The FCA made clear that it will take action against firms breaking FCA rules, including where firms push elective professional or redirection promotions to retail clients, and that it will also continue to target finfluencers promoting financial services products illegally.