Firms that approve financial promotions on behalf of other businesses need to do more to protect consumers according to the FCA.
A review of financial promotion approvers by the regulator found that some approved adverts with unsubstantiated claims or allowed retail investors to see promotions intended for professional clients. In some cases, firms relied on third-party templates instead of doing proper checks themselves.
Following the review, so far one firm has had to conduct a remediation exercise and some websites have been blocked to retail customers.
Lucy Castledine, director of consumer investments at the FCA, said: “Consumers see these promotions daily - in social media feeds, online adverts, websites and apps. When approvers fail in their responsibilities, people can be misled into harmful financial decisions.
“Firms must make sure every promotion they sign off is fair, clear and not misleading.”
Section 21 approvers are FCA-authorised firms that have the permission to approve financial promotions for businesses that aren't authorised. They must check that these promotions follow FCA rules, so the products can be legally marketed to UK consumers.
The review sampled promotions that had been approved since each firm included within the review was authorised.
The FCA looked at firms who were approving financial promotions for Buy Now Pay Later, crowdfunding and corporate finance firms.