On 10 December 2020, the FCA published Policy Statement 20/15: High-risk investments: Marketing speculative illiquid securities (including speculative mini-bonds) to retail investors (PS20/15).

In PS20/15 the FCA confirms that from 1 January 2021 there will be a permanent ban on the mass-marketing of speculative illiquid securities – including speculative mini-bonds – to retail investors. A temporary ban was introduced without consultation in January following serious concerns that speculative mini-bonds were being promoted to retail investors who neither understood the risks involved, nor could afford the potential financial losses. The new rules include a small number of changes to the temporary ban, following a consultation launched in June. This includes bringing listed bonds with similar features to other speculative illiquid securities, and which are not regularly traded, within the scope of the ban.