WBR Group director Martin Tilley
WBR Group (WRB) is set to register the Rowanmoor small self-administered scheme (SSAS) book to its in-house operation WBR Trustees from Rowanmoor Trustees after The Pensions Ombudsman’s (TPO) decision put the latter’s long-term viability in doubt.
WBR Group (WBR), the UK's largest independent provider of SSAS services and tax experts, has written to nearly 2,000 clients that it acquired as part of the Rowanmoor SSAS book from Rowanmoor Executive Pensions (REP) in January 2023.
It comes after TPO decision against Rowanmoor Trustees put the long-term viability of Rowanmoor Trustees into doubt.
The Ombudsman's decision on 1 February 2024 came after a SSAS complaint was filed in June 2018 against Rowanmoor Trustees which proved to show that Rowanmoor did not fulfil its duties as a trustee of the scheme.
WRB explained that was originally intended that REP would transfer ownership of Rowanmoor Trustees, the professional trustee of the SSAS book, to WBR Group in January 2025. However, following the recent publication of the Pensions Ombudsman ruling against Rowanmoor Trustees, this "will no longer be possible".
The firm added that assets within the impacted SSASs to which RT is registered as co-owner are "not at risk".
These assets are registered in Rowanmoor's Trustees' capacity as a trustee and do not sit within its balance sheet and it does not have any rights over them.
WBR Group director Martin Tilley said: "Since acquiring the SSAS book from Rowanmoor, we have been made aware of a potential historic issue regarding the professional trustee firm that had been appointed by Rowanmoor to a number of the SSAS schemes.
"Following the decision by TPO against Rowanmoor Trustees we have put in place a contingency plan to replace it with our own professional trustee company, WBR Trustees.
"This is a technical and administrative process that will not affect the operation or management of the SSASs and at no point in time are client assets at risk. We will handle the re-registration process on behalf of our clients and there will be no cost to them.
"We are already writing to our clients and their intermediaries informing them of exactly how we plan to deal with the issue. This prompt and decisive action is another example of our commitment to our clients and to the SSAS market."
WBR conducted a similar re-registration of assets project when the James Hay SSAS book was acquired in 2021.
