Some such investments fail, leading individuals in some cases to lose their entire pension pot.
Many high profile SIPP schemes have recently failed.
If you have dealt with any of the below- or invested in any of their schemes- you may have a claim.
- Berkeley Burke SIPP Administration Limited;
- Kingsway Wealth Management;
- GPC SIPP Management;
- Aracade Limited;
- Ethical Forestry;
- Cherish Wealth;
- Stadia Trustees Limited;
- ABKUK Resort Group;
- Brooklands Trustees Limited;
- Global Plantations;
- Blue Affinity;
- Douglas Baillie Limited;
- Anton Barr Limited;
- Dolphin Trust;
- Liberty SIPP;
- Montpellier Pension Administration Service Limited.
You may have a claim if any of the below apply:
- You feel you received bad advice;
- The risks of transferring your pension pot were not explained to you;
- The investments were described as low risk or risk free;
- The investments were not adequately explained to you;
- The investments were not suitable or appropriate;
- You were not well versed in financial matters or complex investments;
- You specified that you were not prepared to take a high level of risk and that you had a low risk appetite;
- The funds transferred into your SIPP represented the whole of your future retirement income;
- You had no other assets to fund an income in retirement;
- The SIPP investments focused on a certain asset class (i.e. commercial property) which exposed you to greater risks than would have been the case with a diversified portfolio;
- You were not told how your pension pot would be invested;
- No alternative investments were discussed with you;
- There is no suggestion that you were an “insistent client” i.e. decided to enter into a transaction which was different from that recommended by the advisor.
- Fees to be charged were not explained;
- You were guaranteed high level returns in excess of your previous occupational scheme;
- The sales process was quick and rushed and you felt under pressure to agree.
It is also clear that a SIPP provider is required to carry out due diligence on the relevant investments: including ensuring the investments are genuine, verifying assets, carrying out independent valuations, undertaking site checks, obtaining legal advice where appropriate and checking that investments are suitable for a pension scheme.
We have found that often no due diligence has been carried out as in the case of Berkeley Burke SIPP Administration Limited v Financial Ombudsman Service.
If any of the above apply (and the SIPP established after 6 April 2007 and you did not invest as a High Net Worth individual or a sophisticated investor) JCLM can help.
JCLM has experience in dealing with the pension mis-selling issues set out above and presenting claims for compensation, either through the Financial Ombudsman Service (“FOS”) or the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (“FSCS”).
If your advisor or SIPP provider is still trading then you can make a claim at the FOS which has a £160,000 limit for claims made about the acts of firms before 1 April 2019.
If your advisor or SIPP provider is no longer trading you can make a claim at the FSCS which has a £85,000 limit (per person, per firm).
Claims at the FOS and FSCS do not require you to pay a fee.
Do not delay: obtain the compensation you deserve.
JCLM also have experience of dealing with court matters on these issues and holding individuals to account where relevant.
Please call or e-mail JCLM for a free initial consultation.