Thai hotels, olive trees and 'conflicts of interest' - Portafina's complaints laid bare

Unregulated collective investment schemes

Hannah Godfrey
clock • 13 min read

In the early part of this decade, advice firm Portafina, then known as Portal Financial, recommended a number of clients place the majority of their pensions savings into a handful of unregulated collective investment schemes (UCIS).

In the early part of this decade, advice firm Portafina, then known as Portal Financial, recommended a number of clients place the majority of their pensions savings into a handful of unregulated collective investment schemes (UCIS). Since 2016, the firm has received more than 100 complaints from clients, with many being taken to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). Strikingly, nine in every 10 concluded cases have been upheld in favour of clients - a much higher proportion than the average for self-invested personal pension (SIPP) based gripes. What is more, in a few of the cases, the...

To continue reading this article...

Join Professional Adviser for free

  • Unlimited access to real-time news, industry insights and market intelligence
  • Stay ahead of the curve with spotlights on emerging trends and technologies
  • Receive breaking news stories straight to your inbox in the daily newsletters
  • Make smart business decisions with the latest developments in regulation, investing retirement and protection
  • Members-only access to the editor’s weekly Friday commentary
  • Be the first to hear about our events and awards programmes

Join

 

Already a Professional Adviser member?

Login

More on Your profession

Wealth managers turn to private markets to offset geopolitical risks

Wealth managers turn to private markets to offset geopolitical risks

60% allocation in 2025

Patrick Brusnahan
clock 23 January 2026 • 1 min read
Copia launches smoothed managed portfolio range with Wesleyan

Copia launches smoothed managed portfolio range with Wesleyan

Copia Select Smoothed portfolios

Sahar Nazir
clock 22 January 2026 • 2 min read
Advertising watchdog upholds complaints against whiskey investment business

Advertising watchdog upholds complaints against whiskey investment business

Advertising watchdog upholds complaints against Whiskey & Wealth Club

Sahar Nazir
clock 21 January 2026 • 2 min read