FCA fines and bans five advisers for causing losses to 2,000 clients

'Real lessons to be learned'

Julia Bahr
clock • 4 min read

The FCA has banned five financial advice firm directors from working in financial services and fined them more than £1m, after they caused significant losses to pension customers in a "serious case of advisory misconduct".

Around £76.5 million of customers' pensions was switched into SIPPs with unsuitable underlying investments. This impacted more than 2,000 customers with an average pension pot of £38,000.  Mark Steward, executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, said many of the customers affected were ordinary people. "Some of those clients - one of them a road sweeper with an income of £13,000, who was relying on his pension pot for his retirement income - were very vulnerable. Their personal circumstances were not considered due to a clear absence of understanding of what the c...

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 Regulation

Failed financial advice firms tracker

Failed financial advice firms tracker

Firms that the FSCS has confirmed as failed since the start of 2023

Professional Adviser
clock 15 May 2026 • 1 min read
Abuse victims must not be 'blocked' from redress, group urges

Abuse victims must not be 'blocked' from redress, group urges

In response to FCA and FOS consultation paper

Jen Frost
clock 12 May 2026 • 3 min read
FCA receives 210 whistleblower complaints over Consumer Duty in Q1

FCA receives 210 whistleblower complaints over Consumer Duty in Q1

Closed 265 whistleblowing cases between January and March

Michael Nelson
clock 11 May 2026 • 2 min read