collapse of Beaufort - how is it different to investment platforms we use

The FSCS is not owned by the finance sector. It is financed by levies on regulated firms doing regulated activities (not unregulated firms). It is effectively the good firms paying the costs to cover the bad.

You claim the FSCS is not bought and paid for by the finance sector. You then go on to explain that it is indeed funded by the finance sector.

There are lots of industry funded organisations out there. The FRSA was a prime example in the charities sector. They were shut down after high profile embarrassing decisions always in favour of the fundraising sector and at the expense of UK citizens - particularly vulnerable people.

Currently we have the FRSA, the FCA and the FCA's nominated administrators having cosy meetings to decide how much of Beaufort investors money they are going to take and how little money they can get away with offering the victims of Beaufort's fraud aided and abetted by the FCA. If it wasn't for the USA protecting their investors Beaufort would still be scamming us fully regulated by the FCA.

PWC and the FCA and the FSCS were met with anger at a recent meeting were PWC looked to take 20% of the remaining assets / cash from victims of Beaufort and the FCA. There are now a few campaigns running. I have also received many PMs from people terified at the level of losses they are facing.

These people acted in good faith. They invested their money via an FCA regulated business. The FCA were aware of the fraud and of the investigation by the USA government. They did nothing to protect UK citizens who continued to invest with Beaufort in good faith as they were reassured by the FCA and the Financial Ombudsman and the FSCS that they were protected.

The FCA are tasked with ensuring the integrity of the finance sector. They are tasked with ensuring that the investing community have faith in the organisations they regulate. This fiasco has demonstrated that the FCA is not fit for purpose and that UK institutions cannot be trusted with UK citizens savings, retirement plans.

Money has been fruadulantly removed from people who invested in good faiths savings / retirement plans. The FCA, FSCS and PWC conspire to add more financial misery to the victims of fraud. They deny victims access to their accounts. This is not offering protection or reassurance to the investment community. The FCA are busy protecting the interests of the finance sector.

We really need police involvement and an investigation into missing cash and assets. And we also need police involvement into why the FCA allowed criminal fraud to continue at the expense of UK citizens investing in good faith in an FCA regulated business.

ShareSoc. There are now a few campaigns running. ShareSoc looks like the most structured. This might offer some hope for those over the £50K limit of the FRSA and others who disagree with the secondary financial punitive from PWC, the FCA and the FRSA.

dunstonh, the FSCS themselves state that they are not funded by the taxpayer. They are funded by the finance sector. Effectively bought and paid for.

What the victims of Beaufort are experiencing is stonewalling from the FCA, PWC and the FSCS. That is not acting in the best interests for the taxpayer.

The FCA knew about the criminal fraud and did not inform the victims of the fraud. Instead it allowed the victims to continue putting money into Beaufort and worse gave Beaufort time to commit further fraud. The FCA were fully engaged with Beaufort and the USA Government investigation from at least 2017.

Rather than allowing the victims access to their accounts the FCA, PWC and Beaufort staff locked the victims out of their accounts immediately upon the announcement of the criminal charges and the administration process. There is something very wrong with that. The accounts have two levels of access. One is view only. The other is transactional and protected by 2 Factor Authentication.

We have the FCA who are in a compromised position regarding their management of the Beaufort criminal fraud, and we have the FSCS - who are funded by the Finance Sector deciding who gets what. Throw PWC into the mix looking to maximise their profit from the administration process and you have a second punative financial action being carried out on the victims.

Press Release 104 !!!8211; ShareSoc demands fair treatment for Beaufort clients
The liquidation of Beaufort Securities on the FCA!!!8217;s instruction is targeting the ring-fenced property of thousands of UK private investors, many of whom are now facing losses of up to 40% of the value of their holdings. The liquidator!!!8217;s proposals bring into question the whole system of regulatory and legal protection of investors in the UK.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) declared Beaufort Securities Limited (BSL) and sister company Beaufort Asset Clearing Services Limited (BACSL) insolvent on the 2nd March 2018 and PwC were appointed as administrators of BSL and special administrators of BACSL.
On 15th March, PwC confirmed that the ringfenced property of the Group!!!8217;s clients was held appropriately in accordance with FCA requirements, being approximately £50million in segregated client money accounts and around £850million in client-owned securities. On the 12th April, PwC noted that client money and client assets were, as at the date of administration, substantially complete save for a very small number of isolated deficiencies. However, the initial estimate of £850 million client assets was reduced to £500m as a result of illiquid / nil value positions. The special administrator stated that the majority of client asset returns will commence September 2018 at the earliest and that around 700 clients with assets valued over £150,000 may experience a loss up-to a maximum of 40% on their ring-fenced assets!
PwC is proposing to charge an incredible £100 million for the wind-down over a period of 4 years. They have provided no justification of either the amount or timeframe for the simple task of transferring an electronic registry of client assets/money to one or more replacement brokers.
Over 14,000 clients invested through Beaufort Securities, an FCA regulated entity, on the assurance that their assets were firewalled per FCA rules precisely to protect them in the event of the broker!!!8217;s insolvency. The suggestion that PWC as Special Administrator can seize client property and treat the owners as creditors of the failed entity makes a mockery of regulatory protections for investors in the UK.
The FCA seems to have allowed Beaufort Securities to continue trading while the FBI carried out an undercover investigation, apparently putting the interests of the FBI ahead of those of UK investors. This calls into serious doubt the FCA!!!8217;s priorities and the regulator!!!8217;s role in protecting domestic savers.
ShareSoc is determined to defend the interest of Beaufort clients, and the interests of UK shareholders in general, whose shares are held in nominee accounts and are therefore similarly exposed to the insolvency of their brokers.
ShareSoc has launched a campaign with the primary purposes of mounting a legal challenge to the current administration proposals, specifically:
Refuting the Special Administrator!!!8217;s right to seize ringfenced client property
Ensuring proper separation of the liabilities of BSL from those of BACSL
Questioning the Special Administrator!!!8217;s cost and time estimates in relation to the wind-down of BACSL
Seeking a transfer of the business of BACSL to an alternative custodian
Reviewing the actions and motivations of the FCA in this matter
Lobbying for legislative change to ensure that assets in custody are properly protected
Renowned FT writer and private investor, John Lee says:
!!!8220;I am very happy to endorse the thrust of ShareSoc!!!8217;s campaign. We were all shocked to discover the seeming vulnerability of clients!!!8217; funds when we thought that they were ring-fenced and protected. This loophole surely has to be closed!!!8221;.

The claim portal process is a farce - in fact it is nothing more than a state sanctioned scam.

Anyone making a claim is presented with a sparse statement relating to the cash balances and asset balances in their accounts. All clients are still locked out of their accounts. By escalating to PWC and the FCA at a senior level I was sent a partial snapshot of my accounts. More information than other victims of Beaufort and the FCA are being provided with. It highlighted a potential theft of cash from my accounts.

I have now requested a full breakdown of transactions on my account, dividend payments, share purchases, deposits, withdrawal. The requests are being ignored by PWC.

The claims portal has an aggressive days until bar date countdown clock. This is a clear attempt at mugging victims of Beaufort and the FCA into accepting unverified statements of the balance of their accounts.

The victims of Beaufort and the FCA were locked out of their accounts immediately on the announcement of the administration process. We are still being denied access to our own financial information. This is not a fair and just process.

It is worth noting that Beaufort have insisted that the issues they have been shut down over are common practice in the sectior. This means that anyone with cash invested through a broker could find themselves in the exact same position as the victims of Beaufort and the FCA.