The Equitable Life fiasco reiterates the importance of impartial advice after customers following sales staff's recommendations are still not guaranteed their money back.
More than one million Equitable Life customers lost up to half of their pensions and savings after the bank admitted it claimed its policy holders' investments were worth £3bn more than the total assets and therefore slashed the value of customers' policies. Sharon Bratley, chartered financial planner at Fairinvestment.co.uk, says customers were convinced by sales staff to put all their eggs in one basket, leading to many policyholders losing everything. "A large proportion of investors with Equitable Life had all their pensions and investments through that one company, providing little...
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