FCA places regulatory restrictions on IFA firm director

Just weeks after the watchdog admitted its concerns that the company had misappropriated client funds

|

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has imposed a number of regulatory restrictions on Lisa Campbell as a senior manager of Romsey-based Campbell & Associates Independent Financial Advice.

This comes two months after the UK regulator issued regulatory restrictions on the IFA company due to concerns about the potential misappropriation of client funds.

The FCA’s conditions, which were imposed on 3 April 2023, prevent Lisa Campbell from performing any activity for which she has approval, without the watchdog’s written consent.

According to a First Supervisory Notice, the FCA said it has “serious concerns about the conduct” of Lisa Campbell. It added that she “may have continued to conduct regulated activity” after the FCA had removed the IFA firm’s Part 4A permissions from 9 February 2023.

The UK regulator also said that Campbell “may have made misleading statements” to the FCA about the firm’s requirement to notify all of the its clients of the restrictions placed upon the business in February 2023.

Lisa Campbell has the right to make written or oral representations to us on the First Supervisory Notice. She also has the right to make a reference to the Upper Tribunal.

Incorporated and authorised as Campbell & Raffle Independent Financial Advice Ltd in 2013, the firm changed its name to Campbell & Associates Independent Financial Advice Ltd in November 2020. Lisa Campbell is listed as the sole active director of the firm and is the holder of senior management functions, according to Companies House.

Company issues

Following an FCA first supervisory notice on 9 February 2023, Campbell & Associates Independent Financial Advice was stopped from carrying out any regulated activity and prevented from reducing the value of the assets it holds without the regulator’s consent.

The FCA said it had “very serious concerns about the conduct of the firm”, as it believed the sole director may have “misappropriated £1.5m ($1.81m, €1.7m) of a client’s funds, including handling client funds without the required Part 4A permission; and failed to repay the client’s funds as promised”.

The firm had permissions to provide advice and arrange deals in investments and pensions. The FCA said the firm had no permissions to hold client money.

MORE ARTICLES ON