Latest Blogs
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Tilley: Pensions Commission must push reform...and quickly
Recent news of the revival of a Pensions Commission was music to my ears.
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Lisa Webster: Till pensions do us part
There have been some fluctuations in recent years but overall divorce rates in the UK have been in decline since the 1990s.
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Tilley: Let’s end the SIPP vs SSAS debate for good
As you might know from my previous columns on SIPPs Professional, I am, and have been for some time, a huge advocate for Small Self-Administered Schemes (SSAS).
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Lisa Webster: Pre-Budget withdrawals are spiking again
Ever since “tax-free cash” changed its official name to “pension commencement lump sum” back in 2006 there have been pre-Budget rumours that it was going to change – and not for the better.
Popular News
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SIPP market tops 6m plans but may be peaking - study
The SIPP market has grown strongly in the past year with a record 6m+ SIPPs in force and £650bn invested, according to MoretoSIPPs, the specialist consultancy headed by SIPP industry veteran John Moret.
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AMPS reappoints Debbie Seaton as chair
The Association of Member-Directed Pension Schemes (AMPS), a trade body for SIPP and SSAS providers, has reappointed Debbie Seaton of Seabridge SSAS as its chair.
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Nest abandoned by 10m workers
Less than a third of members of the Nest Pension scheme are paying into their retirement pots, according to new data released under an FOI request.
ofAlmost one in ten (9%) of investors said that the source of information they have increased the most to help manage their investments is social media, with 7% now regarding it as their most important source of information.
The Association of Investment Companies (AIC) is creating three new investment company sectors as part of a sector reshuffle.
SIPP provider Curtis Banks has revealed the top technical queries its support team received in 2020.
The FCA has begun civil proceeding in the High Court against Paul Steel for providing unsuitable defined benefit pension transfer advice.
It has also secured in interim injunction which freezes the assets of both Mr Steel and his partner Ms Foster up to the value of £7m, pending a further hearing.
The regulator said Mr Steel’s firm, Estate Matters Financial (in liquidation), contravened the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 by providing unsuitable defined benefit pension transfer advice, leading consumers to exit defined benefit pension schemes when it was not in their best interests to do so.
The regulator added that Mr Steel, Estate Matters Financial’s director and co-owner, was knowingly concerned in the contravention.
The FCA alleges that Mr Steel breached FCA requirements by undertaking a course of conduct which resulted in the removal of the firm’s assets, leaving it unable to meet potential liabilities for unsuitable advice, while enabling him to retain the significant profits that accrued from the provision of the advice and from ongoing fees.
An injunction was also obtained against Ms Foster on the basis that she may be holding or controlling assets owned by her partner Mr Steel.
The FCA has also asked the Court to make a restitution order requiring Mr Steel to compensate consumers who have suffered losses as a result of receiving unsuitable pension transfer advice.
No trial date has been set.
Wealth Manager Charles Stanley, which has a substanial SIPP arm, has removed VAT from its Managed Portfolio Service (MPS) across its Dynamic Passive, Blended and Multi-manager models.
Private equity-owned platform James Hay is to buy rival Nucleus Financial for £145m in an all-cash deal announced today.