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”.

New Delhi: Minister of Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw informed Parliament on Wednesday that the daily average number of train services on the Indian Railways network has gone up to 11,740 (November 2025) from 11,283 services operating prior to Covid-19.  

The Indian Railways network has increased the daily average number of Mail and Express services to 2,238 (November 2025) as against 1,768 services operating prior to Covid-19.

In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, the minister further stated that Indian Railways undertook rationalisation of the time-table, including rationalisation of train services and stoppages, in a scientific manner with the assistance of IIT-Bombay. The exercise has been undertaken to provide for better passenger safety by creating maintenance corridor blocks, speeding up train services and improving punctuality.

Since November 2021, Express train services have been operated as per a rationalised timetable and regular numbers.

The minister also said that at present, 164 Vande Bharat train services having Chair Cars are operational on the Indian Railways network, besides the introduction of new train services, including Vande Bharat Express services and their variants.

He further stated that to cater to long and medium distance overnight travel, the Sleeper variant of the Vande Bharat train has been indigenously designed. Two such rakes have been manufactured and are under trial.

Broad Technological advancements and safety features provided in Vande Bharat Sleeper Trains include the KAVACH safety system, higher acceleration with operating speed of 160 KMPH, crashworthy and jerk-free semi-permanent couplers and anti-climbers, fire barrier doors at the end of each coach and improved fire safety aerosol-based fire detection and suppression system in electrical cabinets and lavatories, the minister said.

Besides, these trains have a regenerative braking system for energy efficiency, air conditioning units provided with indigenously developed UV-C lamp-based disinfection systems, centrally controlled automatic plug doors and fully sealed wider gangways.

They are also equipped with an emergency talk-back unit for communication between the passenger and train manager or loco pilot in case of emergency. The facilities include a centralised Coach Monitoring System for better condition monitoring of passenger amenities such as air conditioning, saloon lighting, as well, Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw added.