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

FCA commits to fast authorisations to boost finance sector

FCA commits to fast authorisations to boost finance sector

The regulator’s latest business plan highlights this focus

Sahar Nazir
clock 19 March 2024 • 1 min read
FCA to invest £1.9m in supporting clients with investment decisions

FCA to invest £1.9m in supporting clients with investment decisions

The regulator’s 2024/25 business plan outlines new initiative for investment

Sahar Nazir
clock 19 March 2024 • 1 min read
FCA's Rathi: Fair value is not 'Trojan horse' for price regulation

FCA's Rathi: Fair value is not 'Trojan horse' for price regulation

'Move away from prescriptive rules, beloved of compliance consultants’

Jenna Brown
clock 14 March 2024 • 4 min read