FCA survey highlights investors’ blind spots over sales pressure

What happened

A Financial Conduct Authority survey has highlighted gaps in how younger investors recognise urgency, novelty and social pressure when assessing investment opportunities.

Research conducted by Attest for the regulator surveyed 666 UK respondents aged 18 to 40 who either held investments or would consider buying them within the next 12 months. Fieldwork took place on 9 October 2026.

While 65% recognised a warning that an opportunity was their only chance as a classic horror-film danger signal, just 36% said a last-chance investment offer would make them more cautious. Another 37% said it would make them feel pressure to buy quickly rather than miss out.

The FCA also reported that 59% recognised a countdown in a horror film as a device designed to encourage rash action. Only 5% said they would be suspicious of pressure created by a rising investment price graph.

Why it matters

The findings highlight how promotional messages and social reassurance can influence investment customers. Almost three in ten respondents — 29% — said excitement from friends or group chats would reassure them or increase their trust in an opportunity rather than prompt their own research.

Novelty was another potential influence: only 12% expressed scepticism towards an investment presented as groundbreaking and new, while one in ten said its newness would make them more likely to invest.

Lucy Castledine, the FCA’s director of consumer investments, urged consumers to research opportunities and assess their suitability before acting, warning that hype, urgency and fear of missing out can influence decisions.

Context / What to watch

The research supports the FCA’s InvestSmart consumer campaign and its Hype Type Revealer tool, which helps users understand influences on their investment decisions.

According to the regulator, initial testing with more than 600 retail investors found the tool’s training intervention reduced high-risk investment decisions by 34.9%, with an effect still observed seven days later.

The survey covers a specific younger audience, rather than all UK investors. Around half of respondents held a stocks and shares ISA, one quarter owned cryptocurrency and nearly one in ten owned NFTs.