Regulator bans more advisers over British Steel pension advice
By Kirstin Ridley
LONDON, Oct 31 (Reuters) -Britain's markets regulator said on Thursday it had fined two more pensions advisers and banned them from holding senior financial positions for wrongly advising steelworkers and others to transfer out of workplace schemes.
The Financial Conduct Authority has investigated around 30 firms and individuals and issued fines, bans and a public censure since December 2022, after British lawmakers said it was too slow to protect steelworkers from "vulture" advisers.
Steven Hodgson and Paul Adams, who worked for Vintage Investment Services, will pay 53,200 pounds ($69,101) and 32,700 pounds respectively towards a compensation scheme, the FCA said.
Such cases can referred to an Upper Tribunal for appeal.
In 2017, around 8,000 British Steel Pension Scheme (BSPS) members transferred their defined benefit retirement savings to plans with no guaranteed income, generating bigger fees for advisers. Almost half received unsuitable advice, the FCA says.
People who want to transfer out of defined benefit schemes, that offer a guaranteed retirement income, are required to seek financial advice if their retirement pot is worth more than 30,000 pounds to ensure a move is in their interest.
The FCA said Vintage advised 97% of clients with a defined benefit pension to transfer out, and almost 99% followed that advice. More than 90 were members of the BSPS and had accumulated around 375,000 pounds on average.
Adams and Hodgson were responsible for this advice and did not meet required standards in two thirds of cases, it said, adding that more than 130 customers continued to pay Vintage for ongoing advice after being wrongly advised to transfer.
"Mr Adams and Mr Hodgson fell far short ..., earning significant fees for themselves in the process," said Therese Chambers, the FCA's joint head of enforcement.
"Their fines will go to the FSCS to offset the cost of their failings," she added in a statement.
The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), a safety net for investors when regulated businesses fail, has paid 1.07 million pounds in claims against Vintage.
($1 = 0.7699 pounds)
Reporting by Kirstin Ridley; Editing by Alexander Smith
免责声明: XM Group仅提供在线交易平台的执行服务和访问权限，并允许个人查看和/或使用网站或网站所提供的内容，但无意进行任何更改或扩展，也不会更改或扩展其服务和访问权限。所有访问和使用权限，将受下列条款与条例约束：(i) 条款与条例；(ii) 风险提示；以及(iii) 完整免责声明。请注意，网站所提供的所有讯息，仅限一般资讯用途。此外，XM所有在线交易平台的内容并不构成，也不能被用于任何未经授权的金融市场交易邀约和/或邀请。金融市场交易对于您的投资资本含有重大风险。
所有在线交易平台所发布的资料，仅适用于教育/资讯类用途，不包含也不应被视为用于金融、投资税或交易相关咨询和建议，或是交易价格纪录，或是任何金融商品或非应邀途径的金融相关优惠的交易邀约或邀请。
本网站上由XM和第三方供应商所提供的所有内容，包括意见、新闻、研究、分析、价格、其他资讯和第三方网站链接，皆保持不变，并作为一般市场评论所提供，而非投资性建议。所有在线交易平台所发布的资料，仅适用于教育/资讯类用途，不包含也不应被视为适用于金融、投资税或交易相关咨询和建议，或是交易价格纪录，或是任何金融商品或非应邀途径的金融相关优惠的交易邀约或邀请。请确保您已阅读并完全理解，XM非独立投资研究提示和风险提示相关资讯，更多详情请点击 这里。
