The FCA, working alongside the Advertising Standards Authority, Solicitors Regulation Authority and Information Commissioner's Office, has stepped up its crackdown on misleading car finance claims advertising, forcing a further 170 adverts to be pulled or amended in June and agreeing fresh voluntary restrictions with offending firms.
For retail forex and CFD traders, the relevance is indirect but real: the same financial-promotions regime governs how brokers may market high-risk products to UK clients. The tactics the FCA flagged — adverts disguised as organic social posts, implied regulator affiliation, and free-alternative disclosures buried out of sight — closely mirror the marketing playbook that recurs across leveraged-trading promotions.
On the licensing angle, this action targets claims management companies rather than brokers, so it changes nothing about CFD leverage caps or broker authorisation directly. It does, however, confirm the FCA will move against firms promoting regulated activities without the required authorisation — the same line that separates a properly FCA-authorised broker from an unlicensed operator. Readers should keep prioritising brokers holding direct FCA authorisation, or a credible EU equivalent such as CySEC, and treat any promotion implying regulator endorsement as a warning sign.