Pension Advice

RokerP

Great stuff! I hope the complaints can be linked as they are in different parts of the country. I will be following your process.

paul_clark_2

The NFA covers the whole UK so will collate individual reports.
It's the crime reference number that will link separate complaints to the one file no matter what geographical area of the UK we each reside in - but we all do need to make our individual complaints to them

DCam_2

I have just read all the posts in this thread and am interested to know if anyone has made any progress or has something more to add.

Like others, after being alerted by Hornbuckle I discovered that 4% had been removed from my account without my knowlede and that the fund transferred to Hornbuckle had been invested offshore with Royal London purely to secure 6.5% commission (because there was no need for the monies to be invested offshore). Once transferred to Royal London monies were transferred an investment plan earning more commisison for PCD.

I have now appointed a specialist lawyer and would happy to team up with anyone planning to take the same route, either using their own lawyer or mine

Hugh_man

I too have only recently discovered this thread having made complaints to the FSA who refuse to confirm they are investigating and the Financial Ombudsman who is taking an interest as well as the authorities in Cyprus who told me they were cooperating with the FSA.
At one stage Flora Parker did offer me a one off compensation payment without accepting responsibility but I chose to refuse on the grounds that I was still subject to massive penalty clauses at Irish Life which Hornbuckles offer to take no further charges also fails to recognize.

This has now gone on for nearly one year and still no progress, I may well be interested in combined legal advice but am reluctant to commit further funds having cost so much already.
Is the Fraud Office line worth pursuing?

TDMM

I’ve had a client that was caught up in this and after initially providing assistance in lodging complaints, the focus turned to establishing the most appropriate course of action for what remained in the pension. A lot of the posts so far have focused on complaints/compensation which is really just the start, a lot of decisions then need to be made to make the best of what you’re left with. I’ve listed some problems/solutions that were encountered during this process that may be useful.

It’s of critical importance to look at the underlying investments, which in the case I handled were very niche, then assess whether they are appropriate investments for your pension (forestry funds, recycling funds, structured products?). It’s also important to calculate any early redemption penalties and factor this into the decision. In this case some of the holdings have been divested which has facilitated some much needed diversification, others have been kept as the investments, although not ideal could be incorporated into a suitable portfolio, plus they carried penalties. We’ve then diarised the redemption penalty expiry dates and will be unwinding these investments in due course.

The matter has been further complicated as some of the investments are not UK regulated, which may make it difficult for a UK based IFA to give advice on. To give advice in this area you need to be MiFID regulated or be providing advice through a MiFID firm, which Hornbuckle do not appear to be.

After assessing the investments, it’s been necessary to consider the Offshore Bond which itself carries significant early redemption penalties (however it’s worth remembering that these charges will be taken over the next 5 years anyway).

It’s also worth giving serious consideration to the home of the SIPP, in this case it has been transferred away from Hornbuckle as it was felt that they had lost all credibility (in addition to their apathy, charges were mistakenly duplicated on my clients SIPP to the tune of c.£700 (which has been refunded)).

Finally, if you do retain the Bond you must ensure there is no ‘trail’ commission being paid to AIW. In this case, 1% was still being paid to AIW as this was how the Bond was set up on the ‘system’ and initially the provider said this could not be changed, they finally relented and will recycle the ‘trail’ commission back into the bond.

If anyone would like more specific information or they have questions about the underlying investments or product wrappers, I may be able to help.

SaverSims

jmsjt wrote: »

Hi, I have just stumbled across this thread; it looks as if I am not the only one caught up in this
situation. When this first kicked off the PCD salesman told me that this was just a misunderstanding
between PCD and HM and that PCD would resolved the situation at no cost to myself. Judging by the
comments in this thread that seems highly unlikely.

My PCD salesman (from southern England) used exactly the same words. I have unfortunately transferred my pension from Equitable Life to HM and then to another company, Montpelier, in the summer of 2010. Although I received confirmation from HM that they had received my pension money, I have not yet received anything from Montpelier. Better get on to the National Fraud Authority as suggested by another post. Some people are worried about part of their money being spent on commission, but I'm worried about the disappearance of my whole pension pot...

Hugh_man

SaverSims

I am also in Kent, we may have had same salesman. I would strongly recommend you contact both the FSA who I believe are still taking statements as well as the Financial Ombudsman who may be able to help.

PS Equitable wanted to deduct a 5% penalty from my funds despite me reaching 60 so fortunately did not move those but transferred others unfortunately, did Equitable charge you?

Heathfield

Saversims - I simarlarly transferred to Horbuckle and subsequently was advised to then transfer to Montpellier. After not receiving any paperwork and some further investigation I found that my fund was still with Hornbuckle and had not been transferred at all.

Suggest you contact HM and you will hopefully have the same result !!

dwjw1

Try googling 'Cyprus Regulator fines Inter-Alliance WorldNet'
eg: NewModel Adviser/CityWire; International Adviser; there is a moneynet announcement from SEC (but I can't post links).
Also direct from Securities and Investment Commission of Cyprus Announcement of 16 Feb 2011 but this pdf is in Greek.
It appears they (and some of their linked companies?) were fined €5000 for advertising that IAW offered investment services but was only fined this amount as "it does not seem it offered this service to investors'.
As far as I am concerned IAW offered Investment Services to me as they chose and recommended the funds into which my Hornbuckle Mitchell SIPP was invested and said they would be continually reviewing how it performed and advise changes should they be necessary.
Do others feel the same and should we be advising Securities and Investment Commission of Cyprus accordingly?
Has IAW just changed it's 'registered office' to Isle of Nevis?

RokerP

I spotted this as well. Yes, I agree that we should let Cyprus SEC know. I haven't had time to find out how to do that. However, IAW will probably say they don't provide advice - they just help other financial advisors which is something like what their web site now says. Does anyone know how to retrieve what their site said in 2009 when we were targeted?