Keith Richards, chief executive at the leading body for the UK financial planning industry, said the increasing danger of consumers finding their way into unregulated activity as a result of a lack of regulation and guidance was “worrying”.
“It is time for all [unregulated] activity to come under the same umbrella, to provide consistency of standards and consumer protection,” he said.
“Accordingly, we are calling on the Government to play their part in bringing about change, to both better serve the public and encourage a shift back to savings culture.”
He also suggested a broader review of regulation, to ensure firms are not driven to develop non-regulated financial solutions in order to avoid heavy regulatory costs and risks.
“The advice profession continues to make good progress since the Retail Distribution Review, and it would be disastrous to see that undermined when reforms offer a unique and positive opportunity for greater consumer engagement,” he added.
“Now seems the perfect time to create a level playing field and avoid and danger of poor consumer outcomes arising in the future.”
Fears surrounding the scamming of UK consumers have risen since reforms to UK pensions were introduced last month, removing the need for an annuity to enable the entire drawdown of a UK pension pot.
In March, the Financial Conduct Authority warned consumers to look out for a surge in pension scams following the reforms as part of its “ScamSmart” campaign.
The UK financial watchdog said the reforms were likely to lead fraudsters to offer unregulated investments with high returns.
