The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has banned two men from working in the industry for orchestrating unsuitable self-invested personal pension (SIPP) switches.
Andrew Rees and Timothy Hughes, partners at 1 Stop Financial Services, pushed 2,000 clients into SIPPs which were not suitable for their needs. The FCA revealed almost half of the £112m invested was linked to overseas property development scheme Harlequin. The firm, 1 Stop, has now ceased trading and has applied to cancel its FCA permissions. Between October 2010 and November 2012, Rees and Hughes' firm advised nearly 2,000 customers on switching their existing pensions (valued at in excess of £112m) into SIPPs. Their customers then used the SIPPs to invest in products such as diamond...
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