The FCA is actively looking at whether pensions can be used to invest across a broader risk spectrum, using the example of alternatives.
Ashley Alder, chair of the FCA board, told the House of Lords Financial Services Regulation committee wider access to financial advice and guidance was key to driving investment in these areas.
The regulator said there is an ambition to be able to invest across a broader risk spectrum.
Lord John Eatwell asked whether the UK could see pension reform as the US did in the 1970s which allowed pension funds to invest in alternatives, which he said led to the creation of the American venture capital industry.
He asked whether the regulator would encourage similar relaxations in respect to alternatives in the pension sector.