Michael Hirst was jailed for three years in May after admitting 13 counts of theft.
He was described as “jaw-droppingly callous” and guilty of a “pitiless course of offending” by a judge as he was sentenced at Cardiff Crown Court.
Hirst’s offences, which were carried out in a five-year period from August 2007, saw him steal thousands from clients’ life and pensions savings.
According to the financial services register, Hirst joined Wales-based advisory firm HHPG as a trainee investment adviser in January 2006. He gained the CF30 customer controlled function in November 2007, relinquishing it when he left the business at the end of 2010.
According to reports, HHPG became aware of Hirst’s activities as investors began to come forward after he left the company.
Passing sentence, judge Thomas Crowther said: “This was a pitiless course of offending without a shred of empathy at all. You did all this simply to make yourself feel good.”
