SVS Securities - shut down?

Sheris

Emillion1 said:

masonic said:

pafpcg said:

From my recollection, subsequent to the publication of the FAQ document, there was discussion in this forum thread in which someone claimed that LC had revealed that one of the three final bidders had been vetoed by the FCA because of the involvement of one of the ex-directors of SVS.  It's entirely possible that LC were selecting a bidder from a list of only one!

Yes, it was my recollection that ITI won by default, and I thought the one that pulled out did so when they'd been whittled down to the final two (i.e. after the veto). Regarding that final paragraph, the FCA must formally approve the choice of broker, as must the creditors' committee. To suggest they weren't integral to the decision process is absurd.

I'm not sure this is correct, I think the deal was already agreed beforehand. The bidding process was a bit of a sham.  My understanding is that there had been conversations between Directors of SVS and ITI prior to the administration.  It could also be possible that there were other influences.  Would love to see the administrators report into the conduct of the Directors of SVS, sadly these remain confidential.  

Emillion 1

The FCA did not raise any objection to the Administrators selection of ITI as the nominated  broker.
It was the Administrators decision of wanting to conduct a single transfer of assists and monies to a FCA regulated broker.  
So maybe you are not far out.

masonic

Emillion1 said:   
There was another bidder who wanted to keep the same technologies in place which would have been merely a paperwork exercise for the clients. 

Do you mean that one of the bidders was willing to take over the SVS infrastructure and continue to operate the services on that basis? Effectively pulling the companies out of administration and acquiring them as subsidiaries? That would certainly seem like it should be the most sought after option if at all possible.

Emillion1 said:

masonic said:

pafpcg said:

From my recollection, subsequent to the publication of the FAQ document, there was discussion in this forum thread in which someone claimed that LC had revealed that one of the three final bidders had been vetoed by the FCA because of the involvement of one of the ex-directors of SVS.  It's entirely possible that LC were selecting a bidder from a list of only one!

Yes, it was my recollection that ITI won by default, and I thought the one that pulled out did so when they'd been whittled down to the final two (i.e. after the veto). Regarding that final paragraph, the FCA must formally approve the choice of broker, as must the creditors' committee. To suggest they weren't integral to the decision process is absurd.

I'm not sure this is correct, I think the deal was already agreed beforehand. The bidding process was a bit of a sham.  My understanding is that there had been conversations between Directors of SVS and ITI prior to the administration.  It could also be possible that there were other influences.  Would love to see the administrators report into the conduct of the Directors of SVS, sadly these remain confidential.  

If you mean that you believe that there was some gentleman's agreement to push ITI forward to win the process whatever happened, then that isn't at all inconsistent with them winning after one of the three finalists was vetoed and then the second pulled out for unknown reasons.

If true, both of these revelations could be of use in building a case against those involved. Are you able to say anything about the source of your information?

kencom

Advice required please.

I managed to FINALLY transfer all my cash & most of my holdings from ITI capital to my ii account, BUT i could not transfer 2 of my stocks due to the fact that they were suspended.

I’m hopeful these stocks will return to the market one day so I want to keep auditable possession of them. The trouble is I cannot get share certificates for either share & neither of these share companies are contactable.

When I transferred out of iti they could not transfer these shares, so I left my iti account open to keep the shares in that account.

I’ve contacted iti, but they have not replied.

Any advice greatly welcomed.

masonic

kencom said:

Advice required please.

I managed to FINALLY transfer all my cash & most of my holdings from ITI capital to my ii account, BUT i could not transfer 2 of my stocks due to the fact that they were suspended.

I’m hopeful these stocks will return to the market one day so I want to keep auditable possession of them. The trouble is I cannot get share certificates for either share & neither of these share companies are contactable.

When I transferred out of iti they could not transfer these shares, so I left my iti account open to keep the shares in that account.

I’ve contacted iti, but they have not replied.

Any advice greatly welcomed.

What are your ongoing costs for leaving them at ITI while suspended? It should still be possible to transfer a suspended holding as all that is required is for it to be reregistered to the new nominee. What does ii have to say about it? If it is an ii problem, then you might be able to withdraw in certificate form (has ITI said this cannot be done, or are you just struggling to get a response?), but if the cost of holding at ITI is low and you expect trading to resume, it may be less hassle to simply wait it out. Another route for information would be the registrar of the companies in question.

eskbanker

Perhaps rhetorical, but has anyone been contacted by ITI regarding how they propose to handle such holdings, given the requirement for them to close all open positions by the end of this month?

tonyb42

eskbanker said:

Perhaps rhetorical, but has anyone been contacted by ITI regarding how they propose to handle such holdings, given the requirement for them to close all open positions by the end of this month?

Currently going through this at the moment. The email of the shutdown was received a few weeks ago. I requested all cash was transferred out, sent completed id verification and forms and then waited another week and nothing! I had to phone them up from NZ to get a response and acknowledge that my cash transfer is being actioned. All the staff I've encountered have Russian names I've noticed and strong accents. Their broker report was littered with errors, some stocks missing and others incorrectly valued. I have to set a time for them call me so we can go through everything. Their online portal doesn't allow me to sell stocks so I am relying on the information to be correct before I instruct them to liquidate them. My cash account has gone up since, presumable by some dividend which I can't see, so it appears these are still being received. Looks like closure will happen before the next Shell dividend which will be a big one.

johnburman

Do report your difficulty to the FCA and remember to seek compensation from iti. If necessary by making a claim on the FOS. 

RasputinB

kencom said:

Advice required please.

I managed to FINALLY transfer all my cash & most of my holdings from ITI capital to my ii account, BUT i could not transfer 2 of my stocks due to the fact that they were suspended.

I’m hopeful these stocks will return to the market one day so I want to keep auditable possession of them. The trouble is I cannot get share certificates for either share & neither of these share companies are contactable.

When I transferred out of iti they could not transfer these shares, so I left my iti account open to keep the shares in that account.

I’ve contacted iti, but they have not replied.

Any advice greatly welcomed.

If there are delays in transferring your two suspended holdings to a new nominee then I would take the following steps -

Make sure that your correspondence with ITI on this matter has been escalated to an official complaint so that you can further escalate to the FOS.

Also take up directly with Leonard Curtis and be prepared to make a claim with the FSCS.  You will need to decide on the value of these holdings and if HMRC has given them a Nil Value then you may be best to just write them off. If they have value to you for tax losses in a different jurisdiction, or whatever, then work it out and make a claim on that basis. If ITI Capital goes into administration in due course or ceases to accept claims after their end date then you are prepared.

Depending on how things pan out with your escalation the FOS might instruct ITI to provide you with share certificates which should satisfy your auditable possession requirement.

Remember that this is a problem for ITI / LC / the FOS / FSCS. Objective 1 of the Judgment for Special Administration of SVS was to get the assets back to the clients. LC was responsible for doing that which is why I think you should take up with them. You may need to insist so first of all decide how much hassle you are prepared to take to keep these holdings.

You could check the list of SVS holdings from LC to see how many others hold the same shares.

Sheris

johnburman said:

Do report your difficulty to the FCA and remember to seek compensation from iti. If necessary by making a claim on the FOS. 

Complaints against ITI with the FOS are in a back log of 6 to 8 months and rising.  

johnburman

Still reports despite the delay