The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has initiated a review of Child Trust Fund providers, focusing on efforts to reunite young people with unclaimed accounts. Around 760,000 accounts, with an average value of £2,000 and a total exceeding £1.5 billion, are yet to be claimed.
The regulator will assess whether banks, insurers, and fund managers are actively tracing customers and treating savers fairly. This includes examining how firms are checking that charges and fees are fair, following the introduction of the consumer duty in 2023.
The FCA has urged parents and young adults to use a free HMRC service to locate forgotten funds. It also warned against claims management companies that charge fees, noting cases where customers were charged up to £400 to find an account.
Child Trust Funds were opened for about 6.3 million children born between 1 September 2002 and 2 January 2011. Existing accounts will continue to mature until 2029 as owners turn 18.