On 3 July 2012, Sage Financial Services Limited, based in Macclesfield, and Bristol-based Burns-Anderson Limited, were put into administration. They ran a network of financial adviser firms who advised and sold products on their behalf. If your financial adviser was part of this network they will not be able to give you advice for the time being. Here we explain more.
Where can I see if my financial adviser was part of this network?
See our full list of affected financial advisers (PDF).
What does it mean if my adviser is on the list?
Your financial adviser would have worked as an ‘appointed representative’ of either Sage or Burns-Anderson which both acted as a ‘principal’ firm. This means that they are responsible for overseeing the activity of their appointed representatives. In turn both Sage and Burns Anderson are regulated by the FSA.
However because Sage and Burns-Anderson have gone into administration, your financial adviser does not now have permission to give advice. Your financial adviser can apply to be re-authorised by us, however this could take a number of months.
Are my investments safe?
Neither Sage Financial Services nor Burns Anderson would have held your money and all your investments are unaffected as these are held by the product provider. Your financial adviser will be writing to you informing you of this.
What if I was in the middle of arranging a mortgage or investment?
Any uncompleted business cannot go through as the adviser working on your behalf is no longer authorised to carry out regulated financial services business. However, if the application has been submitted to the provider it will probably proceed unless the application is declined or the product chosen had to be changed and new advice was required.
You should contact your adviser to confirm the status of your application. He or she should also be able to give you contact details of where your investments are held, should you wish to deal with the product provider directly.
Do I need to find a new financial adviser?
This would depend on your personal circumstances. If you require financial advice you could find a new adviser that is authorised by us, or you could wait to see if your adviser gets reapproved by us.
A list of authorised firms can be found on our Register[1].
Who do I contact if I want to check my investments?
If you have any questions, you can contact the administrators, Grant Thornton on 01482 385385 or 01625 667000.
In addition, your financial adviser should be able to provide you with contact information for where your money is invested, if you wish to contact your product provider directly.