FCA bans incompetent IFA Simon Hughes over British Steel advice

Hughes to pay FSCS £158,000 but lifeboat fund paid out £8.4m to clients

Jenna Brown
clock • 2 min read

Adviser Simon Hughes has been banned by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for "grossly negligent" advice given to British Steel Pension Scheme (BSPS) members.

Hughes, of S&M Hughes, has been banned from advising customers on pension transfers and pension opt-outs, and from holding any senior management function in a regulated firm. The regulator said Hughes would also pay £158,000 to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) to contribute to redress due to his customers, the majority being members of the BSPS. The figure is dwarfed by the £8.4m already paid out by the lifeboat fund in compensation to his clients for unsuitable advice. The FCA said Hughes was solely responsible for the pension transfer advice provided by the firm ...

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