The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has taken its first steps in addressing potential consumer harm arising from pricing complexity and a lack of transparency in direct-to-consumer (D2C) investment platforms, as part of a proposed package of remedies addressing competition issues in the space.
In the interim report following its 2017 Investment Platforms Market Study, the FCA said it had found low levels of satisfaction levels on price competition among users of D2C platforms. FCA finds conflicts of interest in D2C platform 'best buy' lists While the regulator found 39% of non-advised consumers who have invested through platforms said they choose a platform based on the price they will be charged, they are often not "shopping around", with 29% "either not knowing whether they pay charges for investing via a platform or thinking they do not pay any". The FCA found consume...
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