On 8 December 2025, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published a discussion paper (DP25/3) on expanding consumer access to investments, and is seeking views on what more the FCA can do to ensure its regulations help consumers take informed risks and equip them with the confidence to invest.
Background
The FCA explains in DP25/3 that it is making certain changes to encourage more retail investment, which includes publication of the FCA’s policy statement on its final rules for consumer composite investments and its consultation on proposed reforms to the client categorisation rules.
Key points
The FCA also makes clear in DP25/3 that it recognises it may need to do more to adapt its current rules to reflect the changes in how consumers can access and own investments, and what they can invest in.
As a result, the FCA explained that it is seeking views on whether more needs to be done and what its priorities should be, in particular in order to:
- Support continued innovation by firms in the retail investment market.
- Ensure that for similar products, consumers have similar rights and protections.
- Shape access to high-risk investments that require professional expertise and ensure retail consumers cannot easily access inappropriate investment opportunities.
- Regulate how firms communicate and promote to consumers to enable them to make informed decisions, including ensuring they can compare similar investments against each other.
- Introduce positive frictions to enable more considered decision making, such as our financial promotion rules and appropriateness testing.
Next steps
The FCA has asked for feedback by 6 March 2026.