The number of Qrops transfers in the last financial year dropped to the lowest level since 2010/11 and is expected to fall further on the back of the UK Government’s 25% charge, as the amount of money accessed via the pensions freedoms hits a record high.
St James’s Place Wealth has suffered another week of grim headlines about its advice model, but for rival IFAs and restricted advisers to win business and clients off what is arguably the market leader is easier said than done.
Financial advisers from St James’s Place are failing to comply with rules on transparency around charges and some are misleading potential customers about what they can offer, an investigation by UK consumer watchdog Which? has found.
Rising concern about the future viability of UK defined benefit (DB) pensions schemes is driving demand for transfers into self-invested personal pension plans (Sipps), according to research published Tuesday.
STM Group has launched a UK-based self-invested personal pension (Sipp), designed specifically for international clients with UK pensions, taking advantage of recent changes impacting the Qrops market.
The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) forked out £105m ($135.6m, €119.1m) in 2016/17 to compensate clients who were wrongly advised to transfer their savings into “risky assets” held in self-invested personal pension schemes (Sipps).
Self-invested pension provider Curtis Banks has been criticised by the UK Pensions Ombudsman for negligence and maladministration.
Alan Shearer has agreed a settlement deal after launching a £9m ($11.5m, €10.2m) court bid against his former financial adviser for giving the ex-Newcastle United and England striker negligent financial advice.
The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) received 15% more complaints about pensions in 2016/2017, with Sipps one of the most complained about products, despite a 6% drop in the number of people contacting the financial redress service.
STM chief executive Alan Kentish has said the cross border financial services provider is well placed to go on a “buy and build acquisition spree” of Qrops businesses, following the UK’s shock decision to impose a 25% transfer charge earlier this year.
Malta-headquartered Momentum Pensions has clarified rules around which assets it will accept into its International Sipp as chief executive Stewart Davies confirms the sector is under a “heightened level of scrutiny”.
UK Sipp provider James Hay has been hit with a £1.8m (€2.12m, $2.3m) tax bill from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) over the Guernsey-listed biofuel investment scheme Elysian Fuels.
