The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is pushing for a major cultural shift in how everyday Brits approach investing, arguing that overly complex and jargon-filled risk warnings are scaring people away from the stock market and other opportunities.
In a speech delivered Tuesday at the TISA Inclusive Investing Conference 2026, Lucy Castledine, the FCA’s Director of Consumer Investments, outlined the regulator’s priorities for the sector, with building a “stronger investment culture” at the top of the list.
Castledine highlighted stark data showing the scale of the challenge: While consumer investments already serve around 19 million UK adults (about a third of the population), many with substantial cash savings are sitting on the sidelines.
According to the FCA’s Financial Lives survey, more than half (54%) of unadvised consumers holding £10,000 or more in cash had never even considered investing.
“Many people with significant cash balances are missing out on opportunities to build wealth and resilience,” Castledine said. She pointed to a lack of confidence, inadequate support, and poor information as key barriers, and singled out risk disclosures as a major culprit.
“Risk warnings can be jargon-heavy, complex, and imbalanced,” she noted, adding that they often fail to put risk in proper context or explain the trade-off between potential rewards and downsides. This approach, she argued, particularly deters under-represented groups and those in vulnerable circumstances, citing research from The Investing and Saving Alliance (TISA).
“We have seen from TISA’s own research that risk warnings can sometimes deter the investing activity among traditionally under-represented groups – or those with additional characteristics of vulnerability – when not provided with appropriate context,” Castledine said.
Cutting down on jargon
The FCA has already taken steps to address the issue. In December 2025, it published new guidance clarifying that firms do not need to use prescribed phrases like “capital at risk” in every promotion for mainstream investments. Instead, the regulator encourages flexible, high-level rules that allow for clearer, more balanced explanations.
“We want firms to communicate clearly, avoid jargon, and provide balanced, transparent information about costs, benefits, and risks,” Castledine said. “Clear and balanced risk disclosures are not just a regulatory requirement; they are essential to building confidence, trust, and an inclusive investing environment.”
The push comes amid broader FCA efforts to expand access to investing, including the rollout of “targeted support” reforms – which let firms offer personalised suggestions to groups with common characteristics – set to take effect in April 2026. The authorisation gateway for firms to apply opened earlier this month.
Castledine also stressed the need for industry collaboration, including through groups like the Investment Risk Delivery Group, to develop more engaging and accessible ways to explain risks and rewards.
The comments reflect growing concern that the UK’s famously cautious savings culture, with trillions parked in low-interest cash accounts, is holding back long-term financial resilience, especially as inflation and cost-of-living pressures persist.
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