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Financial advice firm one of five declared in default by FSCS

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  • 09/08/2022
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A financial advice firm which operated in the mortgage, equity release, pension and wealth management space has been declared in default by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).

Cowley and Miller Independent Financial Services, based in Ayreshire, Scotland, is among the five firms named by the FSCS. 

According to Companies House, the company voluntarily wound up in March following concerns over its pension advice. 

In 2015, a claim was made to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) stating the firm told a client to transfer out of her final salary scheme onto a self-invested personal pension (SIPP), so she could invest in carbon credits. The firm compensated this client. 

A similar claim was brought against Cowley and Miller in 2018 and the FOS upheld the complaint. 

In 2018, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) restricted the firm from advising on pension transfers until it was satisfied it would be able to “conduct pension transfer business in a compliant manner”. 

A further FOS complaint was upheld in 2019, regarding a client who was advised to transfer their pension against original advice. 

The FCA placed an asset retention on the firm in June 2021 meaning it could not dispose, transfer, sell or diminish the value of any assets or its client base without regulatory approval. In December 2021, Cowley and Miller applied to have its FCA permissions cancelled. 

County Capital Wealth Management, trading as The Pension Review Service, green investment management firm Curzon Capital, financial planner Smith, Law and Shepherds IFA and global trading firm Tradenext were also declared in default over June and July. 

Sarah Marin, FSCS’s chief customer officer, said: “In 2021/22, we helped 108,838 customers get back on track by either paying them compensation or enabling them to transfer to a new provider for their investment or insurance policy.  

“Whilst the number of firm failures has reduced, the total compensation amount is forecast to increase as claims volumes and values per firm rise.” 

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