2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000

The FSA carries out consumer research to help inform our understanding of consumer behaviour in retail markets as part of our commitment to evidence based policy.We also undertake some research with firms to understand their engagement and interaction so that we can improve our service delivery.

We do not have a formal annual research programme though most of our research priorities are informed by our annual business plan. We have a framework agreement through which we commission most of our research. The FSA typically undertakes consumer and firm research to:

  • Inform policy development work and provide evidence for cost benefit analysis, for example on disclosure;
  • Assess firms' satisfaction with and experiences of FSA services, which can feed into performance indicators;
  • Evaluate policy work and other initiatives such as our financial capability strategy;
  • Provide evidence for major cross-cutting thematic projects; and
  • Provide first hand experience of firms sales practices through mystery-shopping projects.

Date Ref. Subject
July No. 69 Financial Capability: A Behavioural Economics Perspective [PDF]
July No. 68 Evidence of impact: An overview of financial education evaluations [PDF]
July No. 67 Consumer awareness of the FSA and financial regulation [PDF]
June No. 66 Fairness of terms in consumer contracts Firms' awareness of and compliance with the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 [PDF]
February No. 65c Services and costs disclosure - Stage 3: Qualitative research – mock sales testing [PDF]
February No. 65b Services and costs disclosure - Stage 2: Qualitative research with potential and recent purchasers of financial products [PDF]
February No. 65a Services and costs disclosure - Stage 1: Qualitative research with potential and recent purchasers of financial products [PDF]
February No. 64 Depolarisation Disclosure [PDF]
February No. 63 Parent's guide to money [PDF]