The FCA has banned Nigel Lewis and Susan Jones of West Wales Monetary Providers Restricted (in liquidation) (FRN: 756482) from advising prospects on pension transfers and pension choose outs after accusing them of performing “a double act of carelessness and incompetence” in relation to BSPS recommendation.
Mr Lewis has additionally been banned from holding any senior administration features in a regulated agency.
Mr Lewis and Ms Jones may even pay £26,800 and £40,888, respectively, to the Monetary Providers Compensation Scheme to contribute in direction of the compensation owed to WWFS prospects.
The regulator stated that between March and December 2017, West Wales Monetary Providers supplied unsuitable pension switch recommendation primarily based on the wrong assumption that it might be of their prospects’ finest pursuits to switch out of their safe outlined profit pension scheme.
West Wales Monetary Providers was an impartial monetary adviser primarily based in Llanelli, Wales.
Ms Jones suggested 27 of 28 prospects to switch out of their outlined profit pension scheme, 25 of whom have been members of the British Metal Pension Scheme (BSPS). In complete, £9,769,550 of pension funds have been transferred to riskier outlined contribution schemes.
As a part of his oversight function, Mr Lewis was accountable for guaranteeing that WWFS supplied appropriate recommendation and to take affordable steps to make sure recommendation was appropriate. He failed to take action, the watchdog stated.
The FCA halted WWFS from processing transfers for an additional 141 prospects, all of whom have been members of the BSPS. Had it not been for its intervention, the chance of loss would have continued, and these prospects could have transferred out funds totalling £43,722,771, the FCA stated.
Therese Chambers, joint govt director of enforcement and market oversight, stated: “Mr Lewis and Ms Jones carried out a double act of carelessness and incompetence that put folks’s hard-earned pensions in danger. They might have continued to offer unhealthy recommendation to many extra had it not been for the FCA’s well timed intervention. Individuals want somebody they will belief to provide them knowledgeable recommendation on their monetary future – and it’s not these two.”
Mr Lewis and Ms Jones agreed to settle their instances and have agreed to make funds to the FSCS to contribute in direction of the compensation owed to WWFS’s prospects.
As at 21 November 2023, the FSCS had paid out £758,725.55 in compensation to prospects of West Wales Monetary Providers Restricted (in liquidation). Had it not been for the compensation restrict of £85,000, the full compensation obtainable to prospects would have been £972,197.28.
In latest months numerous monetary advisers and companies have been sanctioned over their recommendation on BSPS pension transfers.
Earlier this month the FCA imposed restrictions on KBFS Monetary Restricted following considerations over its failure to pay redress to former members of the British Metal Pension Scheme.
Final month Swansea monetary adviser Simon Hughes was banned by the FCA and made to pay £158,600 redress for “negligent” pension recommendation which led to £8m compensation being paid to his BSPS-member purchasers.
In September the FCA banned Darren Reynolds and Andrew Deeney of Energetic Wealth Restricted for dishonest pension switch recommendation. Mr Reynolds suggested 150 BSPS members to place their cash into investments that the regulator stated he knew weren’t appropriate for them.
Some 40 monetary recommendation companies hit by BSPS claims have up to now failed with an additional seven below investigation, newest FSCS knowledge exhibits. Claims regarding the 40 recommendation companies which went out of enterprise earlier than 28 February at the moment are being dealt with by the Monetary Providers Compensation Scheme.
Compensation prices are anticipated to run into the tens of millions.