sector is working for them. our experience has shown us the importance of listening to these views and using insights from retail investors to inform our annual risk assessment. they also inform our understand of what should be done to mitigate these risks. as such, tomorrow we will be publishing findings from our most recent consumer research which looked at the experience of retail investors interacting with investment firms, their views of the sector and the issues they have faced. we undertook this research along with a mystery shopping exercise. both of which informed a thematic review which looked at the use of marketing and advertising by investment firms. we will also be publishing the findings from this review tomorrow. the insights from the research are of real value. investors are telling us that they still find engaging with the sector challenging in some ways. they highlight disclosures and the provision of information as a challenge for them, saying that while benefits about products are often explained in plain language and illustrated using graphs and visuals, important disclosures and regulatory information ( including risks, warnings and fees ) tend to use language that is more technical, and text based. this view is similar to what we saw in previous supervisory work by the central bank which looked at fees and charges. that found there is more that could be done by firms in providing clarity and detail on the fees charged to retail investors. the research also shows that investments are now more accessible, mainly through digital channels. nevertheless, retail investors with very limited experience continue to have a number of preconceptions about investing which may adversely affect engagement levels. this includes a sense that getting involved with investments is only for those who have a high level of knowledge and keep abreast of the market on a regular basis. 3 / 6 bis - central bankers'speeches the research provides valuable perspectives to understand the challenges that investors are dealing with. it tells us that while a firm may be meeting all its obligations in providing prescribed information to investors, there are real questions on the clarity and usefulness of some of this information. firms need to consider if they providing information in a way that helps investors to make decisions. does the information require an established knowledge base or is it accessible to someone who has never invested before? if the information is a challenge or difficult to understand at the outset, does that instil confidence with investors or is it more likely to attract them to products with a simple message but less regulatory protections. firms that consider and act on what investors are telling them and make changes that support and inform retail

including cost control ) ; and 3. entrust oversight of their investments to a professional investment manager. significantly, in terms of facilitating better outcomes for investors, an investment fund allows an investor to participate in a diversified portfolio of holdings with a view to mitigating concentration risk. we are reminded once more unity creates strength. on a broader, system level basis, the sector has an important role to play in reducing the reliance on the banking sector. i have spoken about this on previous occasions so will not dwell on it today. 4 however, traditional forms of finance, including bank funding, imposes certain costs and can lead to fragilities where an economy is overly dependent on it. on a sectoral basis, we know that the funds sector has generally demonstrated high levels of resilience, even during periods of stress such as the covid market shock. nevertheless, we of course must be mindful that an expanding and more interconnected financial sector may pose risks that need to be managed. 2 / 6 bis - central bankers'speeches we must also be alert to the risks from frauds and scams. we are all aware of the emergence of increasingly sophisticated scams targeting retail investors. in ireland, the gardaa recorded that fraud incidents increased by 95 % between 2019 and 2022, with the investment fraud element increasing by 358 % during that period. 5 this is a risk to each customer but also an issue of trust and confidence. conscious of this growing risk the central bank has recently announced that the first theme of our new innovation sandbox programme will be'combatting financial crime '. we will be looking at what technological solutions can help to deliver positive outcomes for consumers and firms in this area. we are equally conscious that the solutions to this issue do not lie solely within the financial sector. this is why we have been engaging with a number of large tech firms since the start of the year, including google, encouraging them to do more to ensure they are not facilitating consumer harm. i am pleased that progress has been made in this regard and welcome google's announcement that they will introduce a verification process for financial services advertisers. an effective financial services verification policy is a key disruptive tool in the fight against online financial scams. how do we respond to these challenges? at the central bank of ireland, core to informing our approach to respond to these challenges, is to take a broader perspective. we must consider the views of retail investors and how the asset management