The FCA has set out plans to deliver around £71.2m of compensation to former British Steel Pension Scheme (BSPS) members who received unsuitable advice to transfer out of the fund.
The regulator found almost half (46%) of the advice it reviewed relating to BSPS was unsuitable. The scheme will apply to 343 adviser firms. It involves around 1400 members.
The scheme is expected to be in place by early 2023, with consumers starting to receive compensation from late 2023.
Some very difficult 'reviews' for the IFA sector from the money pages as a result. Attempts to discuss this by advisers om social media with the journalists and editors concerned are, I think, rather fraught for the sector, as no matter how many times advisers say that it is a minority involved or even that many national papers cheer-led for pension freedoms and transfers, it isnt going to change what's printed.
Of course, the papers, with a few notably exceptions, did cheerlead but they are never going to concede it. Indeed even to make the argument, I think you need to come armed with stats and links. Arguably the best thing to do is make the case for your business and your clients, though at least some advisers, including for example Al Rush, did try and make a difference on BSPS.
In other news, it was a week of deals last week.
Brewin Dolphin is set to be sold to Canada’s RBC for around £1.6billion.
As thisismoney.co.uk reports, the firm which dates back to 1762 and looks after £55billion of funds for more than 80,000 clients, has agreed to a takeover by Royal Bank of Canada (RBC).
The 515p-a-share offer was 62 per cent higher than the closing price on Wednesday before the deal was announced.
Guernsey-based wealth management firm Ravenscroft has acquired Miton Optimal.
The firm is majority owned by former Hargreaves Lansdown founder Stephen Lansdown.
It would be interesting to understand where wealth management stops and financial planning and advice begins. Brewin, for example, has a lot of advisers alongside its stock broking and asset management offers.
It also feels as if we are crying out for a full survey of the sector in particular to ascertain just how much advice is being delivered.
In another deal, Nucleus is ‘sort-of’ sold for the second time in a matter of months.
HPS Investment Partners has taken a majority stake in Nucleus while its recent purchaser Epiris, the owner of James Hay, becomes a minority shareholder.
The deal is subject to regulatory approval and financial terms are not being disclosed.
I think it will be very interesting to see what this means for plans to move James Hay on to another platform system. Indeed, it would be great to know what the overall plan is. I am sure advisers who would use both platforms would like to know as well.
The following story rather confounds the prevailing wisdom about such things.
Fund fees in the UK are among the lowest in the world, according to data published by Morningstar writes FTAdviser.
UK-domiciled funds have a median cost of 0.83 per cent for allocation, 0.84 per cent for equity and 0.55 per cent for fixed income, the rating firm’s latest Global Investor Experience study has found.
An adviser and two pension experts discuss dealing with the cost of living crisis on the New Model Adviser podcast.
It also has an excellent interview with AssetCo's Martin Gilbert.
