The firm failed to provide its Directory Persons Attestation, a list of regulated individuals working at the firm.

Regulated firms are required to provide the Attestation every 12 months, a duty introduced in 2020.

As a result of the failure to provide the list, the FCA has cancelled the firm’s Part 4A permissions meaning the firm is no longer able to carry out regulated business in the UK.

According to the FCA Register the firm, which also traded as Symfonie Investment Advisors, was registered from 2013. On the Symfonie website the firm describes itself as, “a multinational team of finance and investment management professionals.”

The FCA said after several notices it had revoked permissions because it considered the firm was not carrying out any regulated activity.

The firm was authorised to carry out a number of regulated activities including advising on investments (except on pension transfers and opt outs), arranging and bringing about deals in investments, dealing in investments as an agent and managing investments.

The firm aimed at high net worth individuals and families who were "experienced investors." It offered a range of investment services including wealth management, corporate and business advice, angel investing and 'high income debt investments.' 

In its decision notice published this week the FCA said: “The Firm has failed to submit the Directory Persons Attestation to the Authority. The Authority therefore considers that the Firm has failed to provide information to the Authority as is required by the Handbook, namely the information it is required to provide in the Directory Persons Attestation.”

The FCA's Data Attestation for Directory persons needs to be completed every 12 months. From end of 2020 the FCA started to publish directory persons information on its public register showing details of key people working in financial services.

Directory persons consist of: • all Certified staff (those holding a certification function under the Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SM&CR) • directors who are not performing Senior Manager Functions (SMFs) – both executive and non-executive • other individuals who are sole traders or ARs (including those within ARs) where they are undertaking business with clients and require a qualification to do so 

Portia Investment Advisors has been asked for comment.