Firm told to reimburse client for unregulated overseas property advice

95% of pension lost

Hannah Godfrey
clock • 2 min read

The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) has told an adviser to compensate a client, who lost almost all her pension savings as a result of a SIPP transfer into an unregulated property investment in the Caribbean.

The complainant, referred to as 'Ms L' by the ombudsman, lost some £63,000 - 95% of her pension - after she was persuaded by an unregulated introducer to invest in a property on the island of St Lucia. In 2012, Ms L met a representative from unregulated introducer firm SIPP-Able at her home. They discussed how she might invest the pension she had recently received as part of a divorce settlement. Application forms for a self-invested personal pension (SIPP) were completed at the meeting and adviser Fergus Burns - who trades as The Financial Planning Partnership - was named as the regu...

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