FCA bans UCIS sales to retail investors; details exempt products

The predessor to the FCA, the Financial Services Authority (FSA), proposed the ban back in August. UCIS are pooled investments in often high-risk, esoteric assets. Investors that put money into them have no recourse the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) if the firm they invested with defaults. Today the FCA has published rules saying that in the retail market, promotions of these riskier and often very complex fund structures will generally be restricted to sophisticated investors and high net worth individuals for whom these products are more likely to be suitable. A n...