The FCA has banned Steven Hodgson and Paul Adams of Vintage Investment Services (Vintage) from advising any customers on pension transfers and opt outs.
Mr Hodgson and Mr Adams poorly advised people to transfer out of defined benefit pension schemes, including the British Steel Pension Scheme (BSPS).
They are also banned from holding any senior management function in a regulated firm.
In addition, Mr Hodgson and Mr Adams will pay £32,700 and £53,200 respectively to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) to contribute towards redress owed to Vintage customers.
Between January 2016 and December 2017, Vintage advised 97% of its defined benefit pension clients to transfer out of their pension, and 98.8% of those customers followed the firm’s advice. 165 people transferred out, including 93 members of the BSPS. The average completed transfer value was over £420,000 (£375,000 for BSPS members).
Mr Adams and Mr Hodgson were responsible for this poor advice – two thirds of which did not meet the required standards. 132 customers continued to pay Vintage for ongoing advice after being wrongly advised to transfer.
Therese Chambers, joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight said:
‘People rely on good-quality pensions advice to secure a comfortable retirement. Mr Adams and Mr Hodgson fell far short of this basic expectation, earning significant fees for themselves in the process. Their fines will go to the FSCS to offset the cost of their failings.’
Notes to editors
- Read the Final Notices for Paul Adams[1] and Steven Hodgson[2].
- British Steel Pension Scheme – our approach to enforcement[3].
- The FSCS has paid £1.07m in claims against Vintage. There are no current outstanding claims being processed by the FSCS.
- The FCA has agreed with Mr Hodgson and Mr Adams that in lieu of the imposition of a financial penalty, they will pay £32,700 and £53,200 respectively, to the FSCS to contribute towards any redress due to Vintage customers.
- Impacted customers who have not yet made a claim can go to the FSCS dedicated page[4] for information about defined benefit pension transfer claims.