Consumers have to appreciate how and why they can benefit from dedicated expertise. They have to realise that the implications of financial choices can be genuinely momentous. They have to understand why the marketplace is no environment for those who think they know a reasonable amount but in truth know precious little. In short, the sector has to earn the chance to show them what it can do – and it has to deliver.
Trust is the essential lubricant of any interaction, and without it none of the above is possible. It is not a question of a hard sell or blinding clients with science. It is a question of clarity and honesty.
At a time when many savers and investors are vulnerable, the sector has to treat customers fairly instead of sensing, exploiting and even revelling in their susceptibility. Those who are being nudged in dangerous directions deserve to be guided back to safety rather than herded ever nearer to disaster.
James Devlin is a professor of financial decision-making at Nottingham University Business School and director of its Centre for Risk, Banking and Financial Services
