The Financial Conduct Authority has this year restricted twice as many firms in the investment market as it did last year, it has reported.

The move is part of its strategy designed to prevent harm in the consumer investment market. 

The restrictions included preventing firms from promoting and selling certain products or providing specific services like advice on defined benefit pension transfers.  

Sarah Pritchard, executive director of markets at the FCA, said: "We want to see a consumer investment market where consumers can invest with confidence, understanding the level of risk they are taking, and where assertive action is taken when harm is identified.

"We know that it will take time to see the full impact of all our interventions, particularly given the worsening economic environment.” 

The FCA said it had stopped 17 firms and seven individuals this year attempting to obtain new FCA authorisation in the investment market where so-called phoenixing or lifeboating was suspected.

Phoenixing or lifeboating is where firms or individuals try to avoid the consequences of having previously provided unsuitable advice by moving to or setting up a new firm.  

The FCA also stopped the UK operations of 16 Contract for Difference (CFD) providers, which helped save consumers around £100m it said.

The Contract for Difference providers had entered the UK’s temporary permissions regime in 2021 but suspected scam activity was detected or consumers were encouraged to trade excessively to generate revenue, the regulator said. 

Ms Pritchard said: “In the last year we have maintained our focus on acting assertively and innovatively to tackle harm – we prevented 1 in 5 firms from entering the Consumer Investments market and we have taken action against unauthorised firms with a 40% increase in the number of consumer alerts issued.”

She said acting quickly to crack down on problem firms would help ensure market and consumer confidence, “supporting the integrity and growth of UK financial services.” 

The work forms part of the FCA’s updated Consumer Investments strategy, which is aimed at helping people invest with confidence, while seeking to reduce the number of people who are persuaded to invest in products that are too risky for their needs and to slow the growth in investment scams.

Last week the FCA said it has been forced to recruit 125 new staff to tackle a growing backlog in authorisations because they have become more labour-intensive since the Gloster Review into the collapsed mini-bond provider London Capital & Finance.

The FCA introduced sweeping reforms following publication of the damning report. The increased scrutiny of authorisations meant that the number of firms that were not authorised in 2021/22 was 1 in 5, up from 1 in 14 the previous financial year.

Simon Harrington, head of public affairs at PIMFA, said: “PIMFA remains supportive of the aims and objectives of the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) Consumer Investment Strategy. We are particularly happy to see the FCA taking a more proactive approach against disreputable firms seeking to lifeboat and phoenix, which would otherwise further inflate the costs of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme for good firms – an issue we have repeatedly raised and campaigned on.

“In addition to keeping bad actors out of the market, the FCA must additionally direct its efforts towards making the authorisation process more efficient and clearing its authorisation backlog over the next reporting period.

“Firms in the advice and wealth sector are still reporting a significant wait for the approval of senior manager appointments. This is having a detrimental impact on the ability of well governed, high-quality wealth and advice firms to serve the needs of UK savers.”