ABSTRACT
This chapter will focus on the complex distribution system of financial providers and intermediaries in large, competitive markets for investment, insurance and pensions. In these markets, governments have largely retreated from welfare provision, and consumers are increasingly expected to become more enterprising by using financial markets and financial services providers to meet core needs such as providing a decent income in retirement or protecting against financial risks of losing health, home and income. Financial self-management involves tasks such as planning ahead, managing money, choosing the right financial products, then staying informed about events influencing how those products perform (Nayak and Beckett 2008). Enterprising financial consumers are not alone in embracing uncertainties of the future, since they pool risks with other entrepreneurial financial subjects (French and Kneale 2009).
