Two advisers have been banned and fined by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for their failings in relation to advice given for the British Steel Pension Scheme.
Keith Dickinson and Andrew Allen of Mansion Park Limited, which is in liquidation, have been banned from advising customers on pension transfers and pension opt-outs, and £155,000 is to be paid in compensation.
The regulator stated that between June 2015 and December 2017, Dickinson provided pension transfer advice, which Allen signed off, that was “unsuitable”.
Dickinson and Allen have been ordered to pay £70,000 and £85,606, respectively, to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) to contribute towards the compensation owed to Mansion Park’s customers. The FSCS has so far paid out almost £3m in compensation to Mansion Park customers for the advice they received, including more than £2m for advice provided by Dickinson.
A total of 400 Mansion Park customers were advised to transfer out of their defined benefits transfer scheme. Dickinson advised 135 of them, including 68 members of the BSPS. In total, those advised by Dickinson had pension benefits worth approximately £36.8m.
The FCA said that Allen had demonstrated “a lack of competence” in his oversight of advice for 328 (82%) of the 400 Mansion Park customers, including 72 who were BSPS members.
Customers transferring out of the BSPS were in a vulnerable position due to the uncertainty surrounding the future of their pension scheme and had been relying on financial guidance from Mansion Park.
“People turned to Mansion Park to give them vital advice so they’d have financial peace of mind in retirement,” commented joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight, Therese Chambers.
“Both Dickinson and Allen failed to do their job. They put people’s hard earned retirement money at risk and so it is only right that they contribute to the costs of compensating these people.
“We will continue to take action where failings by advisers put their customers at risk.”
The FCA has urged any customers who were advised to transfer by Mansion Park to contact the FSCS to see if they are owed compensation.
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