FCA warns on Hartley Pensions communications

The FCA has taken the rare step of issuing a warning about communications from a troubled firm, SIPP and SSAS provider Hartley Pensions. In July, Hartley Pensions went into administration after suffering a series of problems. It was banned earlier in the year from taking on new business as troubles mounted. In its latest intervention this week, the FCA said it was concerned about a recent message from Hartley to members that may have worried them and also contained errors. The communication was sent on 23 November from Tony Flanagan, a director of Hartley and a director of companies that act as a trustees of the Hartley SIPPs. It was sent to members of the pension schemes administered by Hartley without the agreement of the joint administrators at UHY Hacker Young LLP or the FCA, the FCA said. In a statement the FCA said: “We previously provided an update on Hartley Pensions Limited in July notifying consumers that the firm had entered administration, and Peter Kubik and Brian Johnson of UHY Hacker Young LLP had been appointed as joint administrators. “The joint administrators have written to consumers explaining the steps they are taking in the administration, and further information is provided on their website. “On Wednesday 23 November, a communication was sent to members of the pension schemes – administered by Hartley – by Tony Flanagan, a director of Hartley and the director of the companies that act as trustee of the Hartley SIPPS, without the agreement of either the joint administrators or the FCA. “The communication contains factual inaccuracies which may have caused customers concern.” The FCA said that customers’ existing pension assets were currently “unaffected” by the firm going into administration. The pension assets are held by trustee firms which are not regulated by the FCA and have not entered into insolvency. The regulator said it was for the administrators to determine how the costs of transferring customers’ SIPPS to alternative regulated SIPP operators should be charged. However, if any deductions are required to be made from customers’ SIPPS, then the administrators will be required to make an application to court and any fees would be subject to the oversight of the court. Hartley has been subject to a number of FCA requirements due to “serious operational, financial and regulatory issues.” As a result of these issues, the FCA requested that the firm go into an insolvency process in the interest of clients. The firm sought professional insolvency advice and, as a result, the directors determined that it was insolvent and took steps to place the firm into administration. Administrators UHY Hacker Young said about the letter from Hartley: "This letter has not been approved by the administrators and is factually incomplete and inaccurate." UHY Hacker Young added that despite extensive efforts, it had not yet been able to secure a sale of the Hartley Pensions Limited SIPP business and was now looking for court approval to transfer out clients’ SIPPs on an individual or bulk basis. It is unlikely this will happen before the first quarter of 2023, it said. For Hartley's SSAS book, UHY Hacker Young said that a sale is "likely to be agreed shortly" and is expected to complete by the first quarter of 2023 with SSAS clients transferred to a new operator. Hartley Pensions acquired the client books of several failed SIPP providers in recent years and bought the Guinness Mahon book in February 2020 after that firm collapsed. The deal meant the transfer of 4,000 SIPPs previously administered by GMTC which suffered a string of problems and legal actions from unhappy clients. Other SIPP books Hartley acquired in recent years included GPC, Berkeley Burke SIPP and Greyfriars AM.

FCA warns on Hartley Pensions communications

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