Broker banned for losing £85k of client money

Matthew Sixsmith, director of Bridgewater House UK, failed to separate money held on behalf of clients from his firm's operating capital. Bridgewater was a sub-prime mortgage broker, arranging life and critical illness cover in connection with the mortgages it sold. The firm would routinely charge customers for two years' insurance premiums upfront when selling policies, and agreed to add this amount to hold the money to pay the insurance premiums on behalf of customers. However, Sixsmith kept client money within a single bank account belonging to Bridgewater, and when the firm cea...