MP: New Clause 11 will broaden advice to customers
John Baron MP has added his name to an amendment, New Clause 11, to the Financial Services and Markets Bill. This is scheduled to be debated this afternoon, should it be selected by Mr Speaker. The amendment intends to enable people to receive more personalised financial guidance which falls between generic guidance on the one hand and bespoke financial advice on the other. The latter can be expensive, and so those with less than £50,000 to invest find themselves in an ‘advice gap’. This amendment aims to close this gap by allowing banks, insurers and investment platforms to send their customers suggestions to help them make better decisions.
John said,
“I am pleased to support this amendment, as I believe there is a growing problem of an advice gap in financial affairs. Full-blown bespoke financial advice can be expensive, not least because of the formal assessments that institutions are required to make of their customers, and so in reality only those with £50,000+ to invest are able to access it. This amendment helps to address this situation, enabling more people to receive guidance about, for example, investing in shares which often offer far better long-term returns than leaving the cash in the bank.”
Notes to Editors:
- The text of New Clause 11 is online (p. 16) at: https://bit.ly/3uxSBfW.
