BRITAIN — The UK government has launched the Savvy Squirrel advertising campaign to encourage more people to start investing, alongside a new regulated targeted support service that allows authorised firms to suggest investments and pension products to customers. The campaign, fronted by a CGI squirrel, is government-endorsed and accompanies a regulatory change introduced last month.

The targeted support service is designed to bridge a gap between general guidance and information and financial advisers who charge a fee. Companies that provide targeted support must be authorised in advance by the Financial Conduct Authority, and most advice under the service is expected to be free, with commission payments banned.

The FCA estimates there are about 7 million adults in the UK with £10,000 or more in cash savings who could be missing out on the benefits of investing. Fewer than one in 10 people obtain regulated financial advice, the FCA said, while almost one in five investors turn to social media for help making decisions. The FCA hopes targeted support will make people more confident about investing.

The Treasury says the UK has the lowest level of retail investment among the G7 countries, that savers are not getting the best returns and that UK businesses are being deprived of an important source of capital. According to the government, stocks and shares have performed better than cash savings accounts in recent decades. The value of an investment can go down as well as up, and the spending power of cash savings can be eroded by rising prices.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves said the aim was to build "More of a culture in the UK of retail investing, to earn better returns for savers." The wealth manager Quilter and the insurance group Royal London are among the first firms to gain permission to offer the targeted support service. Barclays intends to launch the service and is supportive of it. Scottish Widows describes its AI agent as working like a satnav to help people understand their options and choose a route based on others on a similar journey.

Quilter chief executive Steven Levin pointed to consumer hesitation around investing. "Deciding whether and how to invest can be a daunting experience for people, leading to a dangerous inertia. We want to offer a simple and accessible way to get started," he said.

Consumer body Which? says people should not assume that an investment product offered by their bank will be best suited to their needs.