Gosling's Grouse: FCA should give up hunt for mythical 'vulnerable' private fund investors

I am determined this year to find the so-called 'vulnerable investor' - the one the FCA seems intent on protecting. Who are these people?

In the last year or so, the FCA seems to have spotted them all over the place, but I do not think I have ever come across one. Just before Christmas, the FCA decided the 'spreadbetting' world was attracting loads of 'vulnerable investors', so it rattled the cage, which did little more than punish the share prices of some of the reputable players in the market - such as IG and CMC. These long-term players have been lumped in with a bunch of tech platforms hosted out of the likes of Cyprus and Malta, or far flung places in the old Soviet Union, offering options products. Is your average...