The Jersey Financial Services Commission (JFSC) has launched an island-wide public awareness campaign to highlight the growing issue of investment mis-selling in Jersey.
Run in association with the Personal Finance Society (PFS) – the professional body for UK financial planning – the campaign comes in response to the increasing number of cases the regulator has been dealing with where local investors have lost some or all of their life savings after making high risk investments.
In most cases, the islanders invested apparently without understanding, or being appropriately advised of, the potential dangers.
While the JFSC considers unauthorised advisers and scammers to be a growing concern for the island, in some instances these high-risk investments have been made via authorised financial advisers – often professionals known and trusted by the investors.
The JFSC stresses that most professional financial advisers in the island give appropriate and suitable advice that can be relied upon. However, the regulator is urging islanders to be aware of the risks associated with seeking out higher returns and take responsibility for their investments.
JFSC Director General John Harris said: “It is impossible for us to prevent every single case of investment mis-selling that affects islanders, but we can raise awareness about the risks and ask investors to question whether an investment recommendation is in their best interests.”
The campaign, which will initially run for two weeks from Monday 16 January and offer guidance to islanders, will be publicised across traditional and digital media.