The Financial Conduct Authority has banned five directors of financial advice firms from working in financial services and fined them over £1m.
The FCA said they caused significant losses to pension customers.
Andrew Page, Thomas Ward, Aiden Henderson, Robert Ward and Tristan Freer had been directors at failed advice firms Financial Page Ltd, Henderson Carter Associates Limited, and Bank House Investment Management Limited.
The firms provided unsuitable advice to over 2,000 customers, causing them to place their pension money in high-risk financial products in SIPPs in which Hennessy Jones, an unauthorised firm, had a significant financial interest.
These customers had been referred to them by Hennessy Jones, which was also involved in designing the pension advice process used by these firms.
This advice caused losses of over £50m to 2,000 customers who have now been compensated by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).
The decisions follow a judgement issued by the Upper Tribunal, in which the five directors unsuccessfully challenged the FCA’s decisions.
The Tribunal found that all the five individuals allowed their “instincts and values to be overridden” and their judgement to be compromised for personal financial gain. They failed to scrutinise where their customers’ pension funds were being invested.
Mark Steward, executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, said: “No reputable financial adviser should recommend that people put their entire pension savings in high-risk investments. Customers were misled into believing that they would get independent and impartial advice, but their interests were reprehensively betrayed in this case.
“This case also places firms’ relationships with unauthorised introducers in the spotlight. All firms should pay heed and scrutinise these relationships to ensure standards of integrity, due diligence and fair treatment of customers are uppermost.”
The Tribunal imposed the following financial penalties:
- Mr Page - £321,033 plus interest
- Mr T Ward - £416,558 plus interest
- Mr Henderson - £179,179 plus interest
- Mr R Ward - £88,100 (no interest applicable)
- Mr Freer - £ 40,736 plus interest
Liabilities generated by advice to invest in high-risk, non-standard assets in a SIPP have been the single biggest driver of the FSCS levy since 2015, with over £100m worth of claims each year. Because of the FSCS compensation cap, many consumers do not receive full compensation.