The FCA has appointed Will Self, chief executive of InvestAcc Group, as chair of its Smaller Business Practitioner Panel.

He will take up the role from 1 September, replacing Andy Mielczarek as chair.

Mr Self has been a member of the Panel since 2020, and deputy chair since 2022, representing the pensions and retirement savings sector.

Before becoming CEO of InvestAcc in June 2023, he was CEO of Curtis Banks, and before that, CEO of Legal & General subsidiary Suffolk Life.

Mr Self is a trustee and chair of the Finance & Resources Committee of the Seckford Foundation and was chair of the East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices Finance & Income Generation Committee for 11 years.

he said: “Smaller firms are the backbone of financial services, driving innovation, diversity, and customer choice.

“I look forward to ensuring their voices are heard at the highest levels of regulation, and to working with the FCA to strike the right balance between protecting consumers, driving growth and enabling smaller businesses to thrive.”

FCA chair Ashley Alder said: “The Smaller Business Practitioner Panel plays a vital role in ensuring that the views of smaller firms are taken into account in our work.

“Their views will be particularly helpful as we advance the focus in our new 5-year strategy on proportionality, clarity, reducing unnecessary burdens, and support for smaller firms to explore new technologies and innovate.”

He thanked Andy Mielczarek for his chairing of the panel since 2022.

Appointments of the chairs of the FCA’s statutory panels are agreed by the FCA Board and approved by the Treasury.

The statutory panels were set up to make and maintain effective arrangements for consulting consumers and practitioners on the extent to which the FCA’s general policies and practices are consistent with its general duties, as set out in the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (as amended).