People who might otherwise turn to friends, family, or social media influencers for financial advice are to be given new help to invest their money.

Targeted support from registered banks and other financial firms is being given the go-ahead by the City regulator and should start in April.

This will allow firms to make investment and pensions recommendations based on what similar groups of people could do with their money.

It still falls short of individually tailored advice, which can only be provided by an authorised financial adviser for a fee.

Nearly one in five people turned to family, friends or social media for help making financial decisions, according to a survey by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

Sarah Pritchard, deputy chief executive of the FCA, said the new regime would be “game changing”.

“It means millions of people can get extra help to make better financial decisions,” she said.

“We also hope it will build greater confidence to invest. While investing will not be right for everyone, we know people in the UK invest less compared to the EU or US.”

Investing money is not an option for millions of people. The regulator said that one in 10 people had no cash savings, and another 21% had less than £1,000 to draw on in an emergency.

However, FCA data suggested about seven million adults in the UK with £10,000 or more in cash savings could receive better returns through investing.

Investing does come with some risk as the value of an investment can go down as well as up, but the spending power of cash savings can be eroded by rising prices.

The regulator said that many consumers who were in a position to invest but chose not to did so because they were unsure of their options, felt overwhelmed,  or needed more support. Only 9% of people surveyed received regulated advice on their pensions and investments in the 12 months to May 2024.

Targeted support aims to bridge a gap between general guidance and information, and financial advisers who charge a fee.

For example, banks could explain how a large pot of cash savings could be invested, or how investments could be spread out to reduce risk.

Ms Pritchard told the BBC’s Today programme that this was not about providing expensive financial advice tailored to an individual, but rather suggestions based on people’s circumstances and characteristics.

“It’s important that consumers understand what it is and what it isn’t, and it’s not detailed advice,” she said.

And unlike detailed financial advice, Ms Pritchard said this targeted support should be free.

“Commission is banned, [and] we’re expecting most firms that do provide it, subject to our regulation, will be providing it free of charge to consumers,” she said.

Yvonne Braun, director of policy at the Association of British Insurers said: “The FCA’s new rules mark a significant step towards closing the advice gap and will empower millions.”

Some consumer groups have made clear that the new rules must not be a pathway to firms exploiting customers.

The FCA said firms taking part would need to be authorised in advance. They might include banks, building societies, investment platforms and digital wallet providers.

They would also be required to show that their recommendations were suitable and should only be offered when it put people in a better position, the regulator said. Any customer vulnerabilities would need to be identified and taken into account.

Consumers will have the right to take any disputes that arise to the independent financial ombudsman.

There will also be a move to allow people to make more informed decisions with their pensions.

The regulator’s new rules will require legislation, but the government has made it a clear objective to encourage people to invest. The Treasury believes this will help to create economic growth.

It was one of the reasons for the decision by Chancellor Rachel Reeves to cut the annual allowance for cash Isas (Individual Savings Accounts) from £20,000 to £12,000 a year for under 65s, from April 2027.

Separately, the FCA has launched a “firm checker” tool to help prevent people from losing money to fraudsters through investment scams.

The cost of electricity in Guernsey is a primary concern for islanders, a survey has suggested.

Guernsey Electricity (GEL) said 3,617 islanders aged over 16 participated in a survey on how the company could evolve its services and tariffs.

In July, tariffs were raised by 8% after the States Advisory Board granted GEL permission to do so.

GEL said the results of the survey found customers were also concerned about the security of electricity supply and they wanted more transparency on what was driving price rises and how the firm was reinvesting tariff revenues.

The utility said price rises were “necessary” to support ongoing projects in Guernsey, including maintaining and upgrading power stations and the underground cable network.

It said it was committed to providing more transparency around how costs were created and recovered through fixed charges in the future, adding it would also explore “potential options” to provide more notice and predictability around future price increases.

Gareth Wordingham, customer, product and innovation lead at GEL, said it was “the biggest customer feedback survey we have undertaken in a decade”.

“We would like to thank everyone who took the opportunity to participate,” he said.

“The next step for us is to set out a clear pathway for tariff reform, including an explanation of how fixed costs are going to be recovered.”

Island Global Research was commissioned to conduct the survey in September.

Managing director Lindsay Jefferies said the survey findings could be considered “representative of the wider views of Guernsey residents, with statistically notable differences by financial status included in the report”.

Shares of cloud computing giant Oracle plunged more than 10% in after-hours trading on Wednesday after the company’s revenues fell short of Wall Street expectations.

The company reported revenue of $16.06bn (£11.99bn) for the three months that ended in November, compared with the $16.21bn projected by analysts.

Revenue growth was up 14%, with a 68% surge in sales at its AI business, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), the company said.

OCI services major AI technology developers whose demand for Oracle’s AI infrastructure helped the company’s shares reach new highs this fall but Wednesday’s results failed to quell fears about a potential AI bubble.

In September, Oracle agreed a highly sought-after contract with ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, which agreed to purchase $300bn in computing power from Oracle over five years.

Oracle chairman and chief technology officer Larry Ellison briefly became the world’s richest man in after the announcement.

But the firm’s shares have lost 40% of their value since peaking three months ago. Still, they are up by more than a third since the start of the year.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, Mr Ellison struck a cautious tone.

“There are going to be a lot of changes in AI technology over the next few years and we must remain agile in response to those changes,” he wrote.

Mr Ellison also appeared to snub Nvidia, the designer of highly-sophisticated AI chips, saying Oracle would buy chips from any maker in order to serve clients.

“We will continue to buy the latest GPUs from Nvidia, but we need to be prepared and able to deploy whatever chips our customers want to buy,” Mr Ellison declared in a policy he called “chip neutrality”.

Oracle is involved in multiple AI infrastructure arrangements that have raised the prospect that major players in the sector are participating in ‘circular financing’ deals whereby companies finance purchases of their own products and services.

“Oracle’s earnings arrive as investors weigh whether its massive OpenAI partnership might mean overexposure with a customer currently in the spotlight over profitability concerns,” said Emarketer analyst Jacob Bourne following the release of the company’s quarterly report.

Mr Bourne said Oracle faced mounting scrutiny over the increased debt the company has amassed to fund building data centres.

But others said Wall Street’s negative reaction was unfounded.

“This was nothing but a great quarter for Oracle,” said Cory Johnson, Chief Market Strategist at Epistrophy Capital Research. “Revenue growth of 14% is accelerating.”

Including the OpenAI deal from September, Mr Johnson noted, Oracle has signed $385bn in contracts over six months, and “those new clients are the likes of Meta and Nvidia.”

“But AI sentiment is so bad right now, that’s seen as a bad thing for Oracle,” he added.

Oracle raised a record $18bn in a massive bond sale in September, one of the largest debt issuances ever in the tech sector.

“Although Oracle’s shares are buoyed by its September surge, this revenue miss will likely exacerbate concerns among already cautious investors about its OpenAI deal and its aggressive AI spending,” Mr Bourne said.

The Ellison family, supporters of US President Donald Trump, also recently purchased Paramount and have spearheaded a bid to take over another major Hollywood studio, Warner Brothers Discovery.