Simplified advice: FSA warns of mis-selling risk of automated systems

FSA head of investments policy, Peter Smith, said a mistake built into an automatic advice proposition could go unidentified and be replicated across a large number of clients. In a guidance consultation on simplified advice, published today, the regulator said most of the companies that had expressed a desire to build a simplified advice proposition expected it would be fully automated. Smith said firms are keen to develop a screen-based process which would include fact-finding tools and a decision tree. But he warned of the extra risks posed by automatic services. "If a mistak...