Tag: Pension Life

Trussed by Dolphin Trust?
I’ve been very concerned about Dolphin Trust GmbH for some time. There’s an awful lot of pension money being loaned to this company – and I don’t get to hear of many (in fact any) people who have had their loans repaid. That doesn’t mean they haven’t been repaid – it just means I haven’t heard about it.

The things that bothers me about Dolphin Trust are:
1. There are no audited accounts available
2. Dolphin has been used by an awful lot of pension and investment scammers – including Stephen Ward in the London Quantum pension scam (now in the hands of Dalriada Trustees)
3. “Introducers” get paid eye-watering commissions of up to 25%
4. If the assets and projects are so good, why pay private lenders 10% interest (on top of the 25% commission) – why not just go to the bank?
5. I have recently heard that Dolphin and some of their dodgy “introducers” are now trying to convince lenders to take their loans back in the form of shares in the company
But the biggest concern I have is that Dolphin Trust formed a major part of the underlying investments in the Trafalgar Multi-Asset Fund scam – run by XXXX XXXX of Global Partners Limited and STM Fidecs in Gibraltar. This fund is now being wound up by Stephen Doran, of Doran + Minehane.

The Trafalgar Multi-Asset Fund and XXXX XXXX are currently under investigation by the Serious Fraud Office. Ironically, Justin Caffrey of Harbour Pensions once told me that XXXX came to see him to try to flog the obviously dodgy Trafalgar fund. Caffrey claimed he could see XXXX was an obvious spiv straight away and that Trafalgar was clearly bad news – so he sent the ginger scammer packing.

And then STM Group bought out Harbour Pensions and got custody of some of Caffrey’s Blackmore Global Fund worthless crap to keep the Trafalgar Multi Asset Fund worthless crap company. You couldn’t make it up! A bunch of toxic rubbish flogged by scammers Phillip Nunn and XXXX XXXX.

STM Fidecs had notified the hundreds of victims that there would be a distribution in early 2018 once Doran + Minehane had got rid of some of the Dolphin Trust loan notes. But then STM did a U-turn and announced there wouldn’t be a distribution at all. Clearly, getting shot of the loan notes was more difficult (or impossible) than Mr Doran first imagined. Or perhaps he did get rid of them – but got shares in Dolphin Trust or Vordere instead (and this is the reason for the lack of distribution by STM Fidecs).

Any way you look at it, Dolphin Trust is looking dodgier than ever now it is well known that there are £21 million worth of Trafalgar Multi Asset Fund loan notes out there looking for a warm and cosy (and gullible) home.

Quite apart from the fact that no self-respecting introducer or financial adviser should EVER be caught selling high-risk, unregulated, non-standard “assets” in the first place, surely nobody would ever want to be caught flogging the same stuff that the likes of XXXX XXXX and Stephen Ward were making a fortune out of.

I did try to call Dolphin Trust, but they don’t answer their phone. Maybe they don’t like cold calls (which is how most victims get scammed into lending them money in the first place).

Without the benefit of any assurances from the nice men at Dolphin Trust – Charles Smethurst, Helmut Freitag, Axel Krechberger and Matthias Ruhl – we will just have to hope that Mr Doran manages to offload the second-hand loan notes that STM Fidecs allowed 400+ victims’ life savings to be invested in. Perhaps I’ll drop him a friendly note and suggest he tries ebay.
June 29, 2018
UAE REGULATOR DOES A BIT OF REGULATING

International Investment has written a jolly good article about the recent action taken by the UAE Insurance Authority – headed up by His Excellency Ibrahim Al Zaabi. I quote from Gary Robinson’s article:

“In a statement on the Arabic version on its website the IA has issued a circular confirming the suspension (of Holborn Assets) for a period of three months or until it is satisfied that the company has improved its performance.

According to Dubai-based sources that International Investment has been speaking to, the IA has written to regulated insurance companies notifying them of their action.”

I have no doubt that Holborn Assets will rise to the challenge magnificently and in a dignified manner – and will recognise the fact that it is time for the routine misuse of all insurance bonds in offshore financial services to come to an end. I also doubt Holborn Assets will sell any more RL360 products.

The Continental Wealth Management debacle must surely serve as a perfect example of how and why insurance bonds should not be used at all – and indeed how and why structured notes should be banned altogether. And yet, despite the Malta FSC’s lukewarm change in regulations to ban advisers without an investment license and limit structured notes to 30% of a portfolio, useless/pointless insurance bonds and toxic structured notes are very much the norm across the offshore financial services landscape.

The Eagle-eyed Sheikh Al Zaabi has obviously spotted something that regulators in all jurisdictions which affect British expats have turned a deliberate blind eye to. Insurance products can, have been, and are routinely abused. And the abusers often cause heavy losses to thousands of unfortunate victims. His Eminence also obviously recognises that turning a blind eye damages not only the jurisdiction in question, but also the reputation of financial services in general.

Quite frankly, it is shameful and embarrassing how many regulators behave (or rather fail to behave).

The FCA takes no action even when their nose is rubbed into obvious fraud – and let the British Steel disaster happen under their very noses. In fact it took public-spirited independent financial services professionals such as Al Rush, Darren Cooke and Henry Tapper to take it on themselves to try to rescue the steelworkers while the scammers hovered like vultures. I would like to be proud to be British, but the FCA is a national disgrace and an embarrassment to all British citizens. I wouldn’t mind if the FCA was just lazy, but it simply doesn’t care about the interests of those who get conned and scammed.

The Guernsey FSC allowed many frauds, including trustees Concept Trustees to sell UCIS fund EEA Life Settlements even after the FSA “toxic” warning. And, of course, EEA Life Settlements itself. Then the stable door shut with a resounding clang as an ombudsman was brought in, but told not to hear any complaints prior to July 2013. This effectively excluded all the worst scams which were being carried out in Guernsey by the likes of Concept Trustees – which took business from Stephen Ward’s Premier Pension Solutions which neither had regulation nor professional indemnity insurance.

The Gibraltar FSC appears to actively encourage outright scammers such STM Fidecs – and when financial crime is brought to their attention they go fishing for a few small, wet fish. Talking of fish, I think it is very fishy that Paul Garner, now of the Gibraltar FSC, used to work for scammer XXXX XXXX at Global Partners Ltd – the firm that “advised” hundreds of UK-resident victims to transfer their pensions to an STM Fidecs QROPS. Then STM Fidecs allowed XXXX XXXX to invest 100% of 100% of these victims’ funds into his own UCIS fund: Trafalgar Multi Asset (now in liquidation). I genuinely don’t know at which point Paul Garner moved over from Global Partners Limited to the Gibraltar FSC……but I have a feeling his leaving do will be an exceptionally (and uncharacteristically) lavish affair – and I am very much hoping to be invited. I hear there will be something fishy on the menu and Garner’s good fortune will be toasted with something bubbly. I have no doubt the cleaners will effectively brush all the crumbs under the carpet after the party.

The Central Bank of Ireland will be put to the test when scammers SEB (formerly Irish Life) are put in the spotlight. CBI has known for years that SEB – led by Peder Nateus and Conor McCarthy – has been facilitating financial crime. SEB took £ millions’ worth of business from unlicensed scammers Continental Wealth Management and allowed the whole lot to be invested in toxic structured notes: “for professional investors only”. These notes – including the fraudulent Leonteq ones (over which OMI is now suing Leonteq) clearly warned of the “danger of loss of part or all of your capital”. And yet SEB sat there and watched while hundreds of CWM‘s clients’ victims’ life savings were destroyed – and did nothing. This has left many victims in despair and poverty – with some contemplating suicide.

Against this backdrop of extreme ineptitude and collusion amongst this collection of chocolate teapots, motorbike ashtrays and fishnet willy warmers, let us all hope that the UAE Insurance Authority shows all these no-hopers what effective regulation should look, smell and feel like.

June 28, 2018
10 essential questions to ask an IFA
Most victims of pension and investment scams bitterly regret not having asked more questions with regards to their financial planning. The problem is that they wouldn’t have known what questions to ask, and they probably wouldn’t have understood the answers even if they had. Pension Life offer you 10 essential questions to ask an IFA so you can ensure you are not the next victim.

All existing victims wish they had asked questions, obtained assurances, checked advisers’ qualifications and regulation. But, of course, it is now too late for the victims who have lost part or all of their life savings.

These victims all agree that it is important to prevent future victims. This is why we have come up with these 10 essential questions to ask an IFA, when considering financial planning and the transfer of your pension:

1 – How is the adviser and/or his firm licensed to provide advice to you in the jurisdiction where you – the client – live? Don’t be fobbed off with the answer that the adviser has an insurance license – that isn’t enough. The adviser needs an investment license. Also, don’t be fobbed off if the adviser says the firm is licensed in another jurisdiction – it needs to be licensed for where you, the client, live.

2 – If you are transferring a DB (defined benefit) or FS (final salary) scheme, you must get FCA regulated, qualified, independent advice on the merits of the transfer. Remember, the advice might be that you are better off leaving your pension where it is.

3 – Make sure the transfer recommendation (from a DB or FS scheme) is correct. Get a second opinion. You only get to do this once – and if the wrong road is chosen, it is very difficult (if not impossible) to correct it.

Check that the transfer advice report makes it clear that you, the client, are being advised on the transfer and that the advice is about what you should do – not what you could do.

4 – Don’t let the adviser put you into an insurance bond. Examples of these are Old Mutual International, SEB, Generali, Friends Provident, RL360, Hansard, Investors Trust. An insurance bond is a wrapper. A QROPS is a wrapper. You don’t need two wrappers. That’s like Superman wearing two pairs of pants over his tights.

The only purpose an insurance bond serves is to pay the IFA 8% commission. Plus, the insurance bond will tie you in for between five and ten years, and you neither need nor want to do that with a pension.

Insurance companies will take business from any old unlicensed, unqualified scammers. They don’t care. The quarterly charges are called “management charges” but that is very misleading because they don’t do any actual managing. Once the value of your fund starts to diminish because of the high charges and the toxic, illiquid, high-risk investments, the insurance company will keep taking its fees – sometimes until the whole fund is extinguished and worthless.

5 – What qualifications does the adviser have?

You wouldn’t take medical advice from an unqualified person posing as a doctor; legal advice from an unqualified person posing as a solicitor or accountancy advice from a person posing as an accountant. So why take financial adviser from someone with no qualifications?

It is a sad fact that in many jurisdictions, so-called advisers spring up with no qualifications and even no Financial Panning experience. Sometimes, they had been selling mortgages, second-hand cars or ice cream the previous week to selling pensions.

Pension Life covered the question of qualifications in a recent blog by Kim:

Using advice from Chartered Global about financial qualifications, you can discover that:
Level 3 Financial Adviser Qualifications

The most basic or entrance tier is the certificate level which is classed as a level 3 qualification within the UK framework, equivalent to A levels. Level 3 qualifications include:

CertCII: Certificate in Financial Planning issued by the Chartered Insurance Institute

CertPFS: Certificate in Financial Planning issued by the Personal Finance Society

CeFA: Certificate in Financial Advice issued by the Institute of Financial Services

Cert IM: Certificate in Investment Management issued by the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment

Level 3 qualifications are sometimes held by adviser office staff and certain mortgage or protection advisers in a bank for example. These certificates require passing a selection of exams over 1-2 years and holders will have a general grounding in financial planning and financial services.
Level 4 Financial Adviser Qualifications

However, since 2012 financial advisers in the UK have been required to hold a minimum of a level 4 qualification to be able to continue to provide independent financial planning advice. The minimum required qualification to provide independent financial planning advice in the UK is now the diploma level, a level 4 professional qualification.

Look for the following letters or designations to identify a level 4 adviser:

DipCII: Diploma in Financial Planning issued by the CII

DipPFS: Diploma in Financial Planning issued by the PFS

DipFA: Diploma in Financial Advice issued by the IFS

IAD: Investment Advice Diploma issued by the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment

Building on the certificate knowledge, level 4 advisers will offer a well-rounded understanding of financial planning and products, from general investments, structured products, to basic pension, protection, tax and savings advice.
Level 6 Financial Adviser Qualifications

A full two levels higher are the profession’s top tier of financial advisers; holders of level 6 qualifications equivalent to a bachelor honours degree. Completing a comprehensive suite of professional exams over many years, these top-flight advisers will be designated through one of the following:

APFS: Advanced Diploma in Financial Planning issued by the CII

CFPCM: Certified Financial Planner

Adv DipFA: Advanced Diploma in Financial Advice issued by the IFS

Advisers at this level will have advanced expertise in the main areas of general financial planning.
6 – Is the adviser planning on investing your life savings in professional-investor-only structured notes?

Structured notes are complex, risky, expensive derivatives which are only suitable for sophisticated investors who understand them. Few advisers/brokers understand them – but love them because of the very high commissions they pay. They also love them because once they have purchased them, there is no management to do – only stand back and watch them plummet in value.

Examples of structured note providers are Leonteq (currently being sued by Old Mutual International for fraud), Commerzbank, Royal Bank of Canada and Nomura. There are, of course, many more out there.

However, if your adviser/broker says he wants to invest part of your life savings in structured notes – ignore any old baloney about “capital protection” – and RUN LIKE HELL!

7 – Why are the firm’s own in-house funds used? An adviser can’t be independent if he is recommending his own firm’s own funds.

The way that financial advice is supposed to work is the adviser does a thorough, detailed fact find to analyse the client’s individual circumstances and risk profile. Then the adviser can go out into the market and find the most suitable and cost-effective investment products.

There is a huge choice and many good low-cost investment platforms. But some firms set up their “own” funds – which are merely somebody else’s fund which has been “white labelled” as the firm’s fund. This means there are two layers of charges.

An adviser cannot be independent if he is advising that his own fund should be the investment choice. This recommendation is usually made because of the extra commission which can be earned from an in-house fund, rather than because it is in the client’s best interests.

8 – Are UCIS funds going to be used?

Many a poor victim has lived to regret his trust and faith in a silver-tongued adviser’s ability to manage his investments. UCIS funds (Unregulated, collective investment schemes) are inevitably high risk and can have catastrophic results.

Such funds include EEA Life Settlements, LM, Harlequin, Brandeaux Student Accommodation, Premier New Earth Recycling, Dolphin Trust and many more which are sometimes no more than Ponzi schemes. Underlying assets include forestry, “clean” energy, eucalyptus and truffle-tree plantations, chia seeds, fine art, wines and speculative property.

Life savings have been decimated by failed UCIS funds – make sure your adviser/broker understands you don’t want your money to be invested in any of these toxic, high-risk, unregulated funds. You could well be promised high returns, but you have to remember that with high returns comes high risk.

9 – What is the full extent of the charges/fees/commissions on the entire transaction?

So many advisers conceal the full extent of ALL the fees and commissions. Victims only find out about them long after it is way too late. The “drag” on a fund can be catastrophic, even without investment losses.

If you are being advised to go into a QROPS, there will be the set-up and yearly ongoing charge (as well as exit charge); the adviser will charge between 2% and 3% set-up and then 1% (at least) annually; if UCIS funds are used, these can pay up to 25% commission (or even more sometimes); if structured notes are used, these can pay between 6% (for the regular ones) and 8% (for the fraudulent Leonteq ones). Then there is the 8% on the insurance bond. Then there is anything else the adviser can slip in without you noticing.

Victims of poor advice often only notice the dragging effect of all these charges on their fund after a year or so – or more. And by then it is too late, and the fund can never recover.

10 – Why were you graded as a “7” balanced investor – or even higher as an “adventurous” investor (when, clearly, you should have been graded as a low-risk investor)?

Here is the basic problem – the higher an investor’s risk profile is, the riskier the investments can be. This, of course, means that the riskier the investments are, the more commission the adviser can make.

After suffering crippling losses, many victims (retrospectively) look at their statements and documentation and find that they were graded as medium or high risk without their knowledge or consent. The adviser’s excuse is that the client valued growth above all else and that this was reflected in the risk assessment questionnaire.

Often, clients start off as low to medium risk, and then the adviser surreptitiously increases the risk profile. This can have catastrophic consequences for investors – and is what ALL of the known victims report as being the cause of their crippling losses.

The bottom line is that the public needs to be educated and warned about the bad practices offshore. Only by spreading the word about what happened to existing victims, will future victims be prevented.

People who have lost part – or all – of their pensions and life savings, are devastated and destroyed. They are facing potential poverty in retirement. Some will lose their homes, their health and their relationships. Some will take their own lives.
June 25, 2018
CWM Pension scam – A victim’s reconstruction

John Rodges had a pension pot of £202,000. He was cold called by a salesman called Dean Stogsdill and persuaded to transfer his pension fund to a QROPS (Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme) with Continental Wealth Management (CWM pension scam using high-risk, professional-investor-only structured notes which Stogsdill referred to as “Blue Chip Notes”).

With false promises of greater flexibility, better growth and a 25% tax-free cash lump sum, the transfer seemed like a good opportunity. In reality, it was an offer too good to be true – it was a pension scam- in which the CWM salesmen, Dean Stogsdill and Anthony Downs would reap high commissions. The victims – like John Rogers – would be left with heavy losses.

67 year old John Rodgers, a former research and development chemist, had a collection of occupational and private pensions in the UK. As he had moved to Spain 11 years previously, he had the opportunity of consolidating his pension into a QROPS.

Stogsdill – Chief Executive of CWM, assured John Rodgers that he had been evaluated as a low-medium risk investor, and that the costs would be 1.75% a year over a period of five years – or 1.5% for ten years. This would be based on the original value of the investment, so the promised growth of 8% would not incur any further costs. He was also promised that life assurance would be ‘thrown in’. Unfortunately, John was to become the next victim of the CWM pension scam.

What actually happened was John Rodger’s pension fund was invested into a selection of high-risk structured notes from Royal Bank of Canada – “Blue Chip Notes”. John was told that these “Blue Chip Notes”, were capital protected inside a life bond which would give him life assurance. No real explanation of what a structured note actually was, was given to John.

Structured notes are generally high-risk, FOR PROFESSIONAL INVESTORS ONLY. Therefore, these “Blue Chip Notes” had no place in a pension fund. This investment strategy was part of the CWM pension scam – earning salesmen like Stogsdill big bucks while destroying innocent victims’ pension funds.

Stogsdill also failed to disclose the commissions they were going to earn from the life assurance bond and the “Blue Chip Notes” so even before John’s funds were placed in the toxic high-risk investements – they had incurred a significant loss.

It took just two years for John’s fund to plummet to half of its original value. However, CWM assured him that it was just a “paper loss”, and that the fund would go back up at maturity.

However, CWM went ‘bust’ before the fund could mature. togsdill and all the other salesmen did a runner!

Today John’s pension fund is worth just £60,000 (if he is lucky).

Pension Life has reconstructed John’s story and we would like to share it, in the hope that other people can spot the signs of a pension scam like CWM and avoid falling victim to the scammers – the only ones who profit from investments like these.

It is estimated that up to 1,000 people fell victim to the CWM pension scam and that around 40 million pounds was lost to these high-risk, toxic investments with providers such as

Royal Bank of Canada, Nomura Commerzbank and Leonteq.

The CWM pension scam was promoted by unqualified, unregulated salesmen posing as financial advisers. People who were not legally allowed to provide this kind of financial advice. The scam was promoted with outright lies and undisclosed fees and costs.

Stephen Ward of Premier Pension Solutions

A financial adviser that can be linked to not just the CWM pension scam, but also many others including Ark, is a man called STEPHEN WARD (pictured). He IS fully qualified AND registered with the CII. However, he does not have a conscience when it comes to destroying hard-earned pension funds – check out another of Pension Life’s videos:

Pension Scams – Stephen Ward

If the name Stephen Ward appears on any pension transfer you are offered, make sure you say no and walk away – Pete and Val – another couple who were victims of the CWM pension scam – wish they had.

When considering transferring your pension fund, please make sure you check all the facts and fully understand all of the costs. Ensure your pension is going into a suitable retail investment – not a structured note.

Kim – a member of the Pension Life team is writing a series of blogs about pensions and we would love it if everyone would read and share these. Let’s stop pension scammers in their tracks worldwide by educating the masses on pension rules and regulations.

What is a pension scam?

June 21, 2018
Holborn Assets’ Kensington Fund – Another Trap to Ruin Victims
Holborn Assets’ Kensington Fund – Another trap to ruin victims. Why do I say that? There are many reasons:
1. Firstly, Holborn Assets should compensate the existing victims of past scams before contemplating moving on to new ones. There are plenty of Holborn Assets clients facing disastrous losses because of being invested in toxic UCIS funds such as Premier New Earth Recycling and high-risk, professional-investor-only structured notes. Surely, a firm which is as hopeless as that with investments shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near an investment fund? Holborn Assets has already proved it doesn’t understand investments and only has the mentality to flog whatever high-risk crap earns the most commission.
2. Secondly, Holborn Assets’ previous in-house fund, LF Partners, was a dismal performer. It flat-lined at best, and the high charges ate into what little was left of the investments. Holborn Assets have demonstrated they have zero expertise in choosing or managing funds. But what do you expect – they are a shower of ice cream salesmen with few qualifications in financial services, and hardly likely to have any training in investment fund management
3. The way Holborn Assets encourages their troupe of snake-oil salesmen to recruit as many victims as possible is to encentivise them with “privileges” based on their sales volume. This includes invitations to the booze and drug-fuelled orgies – such as earlier this year in Tanzania (with an even more depraved version planned for 2019 in Cambodia).
4. Holborn Assets employs the dregs of the financial services World – mostly unqualified, unprincipled and unscrupulous. Including Paul Reynolds – banned and fined by the FCA – and Darrin Brownlee-Jones – jailed for killing a motorcyclist – the Holborn Assets staff are a motley crew at best. A den of thieves at worst. Even worse, everyone in the firm seems to be happy to stand by and see innocent people’s lives destroyed by Holborn Assets‘ hard-sell tactics, and greedy investment arrangements which disadvantage the investors but pay handsome commissions to the Holborn Assets salesmen.
Back to the Kensington fund. I posted an invitation to comment on the fund yesterday on Linkedin – Monday 18th June 2018. My post has got over 2,300 views in less than 24 hours – and the industry experts are clearly outraged. The views range from Cape Town to Edinburgh; from Aviva and Brooks Macdonald to Globaleye and Standard Bank Group.

Some of the comments include:

“With so many multi-manager, multi-asset funds with demonstrable track records, why would a company chose to recommend a fund that is only weeks old and potentially risk clients money?”

“High commissions, zero repercussions”

“Kensington – is being promoted as Holborn Assets’ “flagship” fund whilst sharing the same Director”

“If you read the instrument of incorporation on the above link and look at “Fees” it suggests the fund can pay 7% up front on a share trade to a range of bodies….”

“No sign of a prospectus or Kiid document either …. about as transparent as a brick…. avoid”

The Kensington Fund website doesn’t tell us much about the fund. It claims to “partner” with Schroders, Rathbones and Marlborough (I wonder if these funds even know!). It doesn’t tell us who is running the fund or responsible for investment decisions.

The Kensington Fund was listed on 12.4.2018 – so it is a brand new fund with no information, no history and no performance. It quotes “virtual” performance by quoting a backtest to try to create the illusion that it can, in the future, perform well.

There are no details of costs, no fact sheets, no details of who is making the investment decisions. The directors are Scott Balsdon, Director of Holborn Assets, Globaleye and Adamou Riyad, CCO of Holborn Assets (and Noel Ford). So the fund is run by the same cowboys who run Holborn Assets – yeehaa!

So, apart from all the above reasons why Holborn Assets’ Kensington fund should be drowned at birth, is the fact that nobody will just pick up the phone and sort out the mess of the past. Instead, they just want to go ahead and cause more messes.

And, finally, Holborn Assets forge five-star Trustpilot reviews. How sad is that?

My advice to any potential victims of Holborn Assets’ Kensington fund: remember that by the time you have paid for the ten-year insurance bond and then have 100% of your life savings invested in this dreadful fund, you will have lost 15% of your money. Avoid Holborn Assets’ Kensington Fund – or, better still, avoid Holborn Assets.
June 19, 2018
STM Fidecs and the Gibraltar FSC – Evil lives on at the rock
STM Fidecs and the Gibraltar FSC – Evil lives on at the rock

I have read the report about what happened to the scammers at STM Fidecs in the wake of the Gibraltar FSC’s investigation and Deloitte’s so-called “expert report”.

Frankly, I am stunned. I have members who are victims of the Trafalgar Multi-Asset Fund and STM Fidecs and they are, understandably, stunned as well. I have met the people at the Gibraltar FSC and they had seemed decent guys |(but WTF do I know?!). Maybe they’ve all left, because the people I met appeared enthusiastic and conscientious. But perhaps they’ve been replaced by a bunch of malfunctioning robots, or ex-scammers or – much worse – ex STM Fidecs employees.

Serious Fraud Office investigating XXXX XXXX

The bottom line is that STM Fidecs scammed hundreds of victims out of their pensions. STM Fidecs took business from unlicensed scammer XXXX XXXX of Global Partners Limited (only had an insurance license with Marcus Groombridge’s firm Joseph Oliver) and then invested 100% of the victims’ funds into an illegal UCIS fund – run by XXXX XXXX (now under investigation by the Serious Fraud Office – although I really don’t know what they are playing at because XXXX still isn’t behind bars).

The rest is history. The Trafalgar Multi-Asset Fund is being wound up, and after paying the liquidation costs to Stephen Doran, of Doran + Minehane, there is unlikely to be much – if anything – left. Deloittes spent weeks supposedly investigating STM Fidecs’ books. I reckon the chumps at Deloittes probably spent most of that time on the golf course with Alan Kentish having a chuckle and a side bet about how feeble the Gibraltar FSC was likely to be. And, of course, they were right.

Now, of course, Deloittes and STM Fidecs are celebrating, as the GFSC has done nothing to stop this iniquitous, dishonest, incompetent and negligent firm from trading. Whether STM Fidecs bribed the Gibraltar FSC, or merely got them drunk on the golf course, we will never know. And it makes no difference. But certainly the matter has been brusquely brushed under the carpet and the hundreds of ruined lives have been conveniently ignored and forgotten.

Neither STM Fidecs nor the Gibraltar FSC has said a word about redress for the Trafalgar Multi-Asset Fund victims.

The only words spoken are that the Gibraltar Regulator has told STM Fidecs to “improve its compliance”. Improve?? How can you improve something that doesn’t even exist at all? We know that one victim (of scammers Holborn Assets) was bullied by STM Fidecs for trying to improve compliance and harassed for trying to stop obviously non-compliant transactions when she was employed by them. She was subsequently “paid off” and threatened with a gagging order.

“STM is now expected to engage with the Gibraltar FSC in order to discuss the Recommendations of the report, and agree a plan of action to implement them.” (according to the report by FT Adviser). Recommendations? Where are the sanctions? Where are the appropriate fines? Where are the bans to stop Alan Kentish and David Easton from ever practising in financial services again? Where is the cancellation of STM Fidecs‘ license?

With this in mind, here are some idiots’ guides as to how to become a pension trustee, and how to become a regulator. Both are equally easypeasylemonsqueasy – any old idiot or scammer could do it.

HOW TO BE A PENSION TRUSTEE IN EASY STEPS
1. Think of a catchy name: obviously inspired by the acronym STD, Alan Kentish came up with the name STM. FIDEC is an acronym for “Fighting Infectious Diseases in Emerging Countries”. Here’s my suggestion: Trussed4U – wadya fink?
2. Think of a jurisdiction with the most ineffective, pathetic and corrupt regulation – such as Gibraltar
3. Find an unlicensed scammer like XXXX XXXX who will transfer lots of UK-resident victims into an offshore QROPS and invest their life savings in whatever crap will pay him the highest commissions
4. Sit back and rake in the profits
5. Forget fiduciary obligations or anything with the word “trust” in it – only concentrate on the word “trussed“
6. Play golf with the regulator
HOW TO BE A REGULATOR
1. Join a golf club (that isn’t too picky about who it lets in)
2. Give licenses to as many scammers as possible – the more the merrier
3. Buy lots of blindfolds (to help turn a blind eye to scams and scammers)
4. Play lots of golf with the scammers and bent pension trustees who facilitate financial crime
5. When an advisory firm or a trustee firm gets caught scamming, slap a few people on the wrist with a wet fish
6. Write meaningless reports about robust compliance
HOW TO BE A SCAMMER
1. Find yourself a bent jurisdiction (such as Gibraltar)
2. Find a bent trustee who will accept business from any old unlicensed scammer (such as STD FIDEC)
3. Find a bent “umbrella” fund which will facilitate financial crime – such as Richard Reinert’s Nascent Fund
4. Find a Ponzi scheme such as Dolphin Trust which will issue “loan notes” at 10% interest per annum (and up to 25% in introduction commission)
5. Transfer hundreds of UK residents to a Gibraltar QROPS scam
6. Get the trustee to agree to invest 100% of 100% of the victims’ retirement savings in … your own fund!
See how easy it is to be either a trustee, a regulator or a scammer? But, equally, remember how easy it is to be a victim!

Quite frankly, Gibraltar should be towed out to sea and sunk. It is a disgrace to the British nation. Just give it back to the Spanish and let them clean it up – they would soon kick the likes of STM Fidecs out and stop any further scams and scammers from operating on Spanish soil. Soil being the operating word.

Rather than going on about how utterly disgusted I am with the Gibraltar regulator, I will leave it to the eloquent words of one of the STM Fidecs/Trafalgar Multi-Asset victims to put this sickening disgrace into perspective.

VICTIM: “I have been quietly simmering away but feel I have to release my anger having again read the response from GFSC.

Firstly, do Gibraltar FSC actually realise over 1,000 individuals and their families are affected by the Trafalgar fiasco, who will potentially all suffer negatively in many different ways during their retirement years? On a personal level, I should have known better but was caught out by cleverness at a weak moment in my life, but many others I have spoken to had no understanding at all of financial affairs and put all of their trust in the hands of STM and all connected parties due to their apparent convincing knowledge and lies – shocking!!!!!

Due to my own personal research, I know of several other financial institutions who were offered and were involved in discussions regarding Trafalgar. But due to having correct procedures in place (unlike STM), they clearly ”smelled a rat”, and were far more ”ROBUST” in their approach. The only rat STM smelled was some form of hopeful ”Magic Money Tree” with no concern for its clients’ wellbeing – apart from its own pound note signs.

As you already know I have previously discussed this matter with my local MP and with your permission would like to highlight again the manner in which Gibraltar FSC have dealt with and inadequately reacted to STM’s performance. STM’s website highlights their glowing history and expertise, but at no point mentions their clearly poor basic audit and compliance mechanisms.

Hopefully, at some point in the future all the evil parties – including STM – in this matter are dragged through the courts, eventually embarrassed and humiliated by the press, and made to pay both financially and personally for their hideous crimes – I can only dream.

Still angry and in despair.

STM Fidecs/Trafalgar Multi Asset Fund Victim

That victim may well have lost her entire life savings thanks to XXXX XXXX and STM Fidecs. I am sickened and disgusted with our own onshore regulator’s pathetic failings: the FCA. But, quite frankly, the Gibraltar FSC makes the FCA look like Superman with TWO pairs of pants on outside their tights!

Interestingly, Justin Caffrey – who used to run Harbour Pensions in Malta – told me a year or so ago that he had been approached by XXXX XXXX who wanted to flog his toxic Trafalgar Multi Asset crap.

Caffrey claimed to have sent XXXX packing with a flea in his ear because he twigged straight away that XXXX was a no-good spiv. However, he had no such ethics when he invested victims’ pensions in Phillip Nunn’s Blackmore Global crap.

But now STD FIDEC has bought Harbour and Caffrey has been given the heave-ho. You couldn’t make it up!
June 16, 2018
Qualified or not qualified? That is the question.
I have been working for Pension Life for five months. I help Angie Brooks with blogging, images and social media networking. When editing a blog the other day, a question struck me: how do we know if anyone who offers a service is qualified to do so? For example, be it the dentist, doctor or financial adviser. When we go to the doctor at, say, an NHS-registered surgery, we don´t ask for the doctor’s certificate, qualifications or credentials. We assume that the NHS has done all the checking and that the doctor we see is qualified.

Pension Life blogs often talk about regulated and unregulated firms and qualified financial adviser and unqualified financial adviser. The world of finance, unfortunately, harbours some downright greedy wrong’uns with pound signs in their eyes. These wrong’uns are happy to swan about giving unqualified and regulated advice and hopefully stay under the radar.

I thought that a blog explaining the qualifications needed to advise someone on their pension and investments would be an invaluable blog to have in the Pension Life blog archives.

I work in pensions and finance, but I am not a qualified financial adviser. I have studied Multimedia and Cultural Studies – I have a bachelor of Arts degree – and here is where I apply my skills to – specifically – the pension side of finance. This does not, however, mean I am in any way qualified to give pensions and investment advice – as I am not qualified to do so.

However, here in the Pension Life office we are well aware that there are many unqualified and unregulated people offering financial advice to pension holders. The tragic result is that many people are falling victim to pension and investment scams as they are not aware of the qualifications which must be held in order to offer this kind of financial advice.

Pension vampires are hidden around every bend. With cold calling, charming manners and compelling sales techniques, offering high returns with low risks, it’s easy to be lulled into a false sense of security and trust these fraudsters with your money.

Lucky for readers, I am here to offer you knowledge and information to help you avoid falling victim to bad financial advice from an unqualified financial adviser.

Using advice from Chartered Global about financial qualifications, you can discover that:
Level 3 Financial Adviser Qualifications

The most basic or entrance tier is the certificate level which is classed as a level 3 qualification within the UK framework, equivalent to A levels. Level 3 qualifications include:

CertCII: Certificate in Financial Planning issued by the Chartered Insurance Institute

CertPFS: Certificate in Financial Planning issued by the Personal Finance Society

CeFA: Certificate in Financial Advice issued by the Institute of Financial Services

Cert IM: Certificate in Investment Management issued by the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment

Level 3 qualifications are sometimes held by adviser office staff and certain mortgage or protection advisers in a bank for example. These certificates require passing a selection of exams over 1-2 years and holders will have a general grounding in financial planning and financial services.
Level 4 Financial Adviser Qualifications

However, since 2012 financial advisers in the UK have been required to hold a minimum of a level 4 qualification to be able to continue to provide independent financial planning advice.The minimum required qualification to provide independent financial planning advice in the UK is now the diploma level, a level 4 professional qualification.

Look for the following letters or designations to identify a level 4 adviser:

DipCII: Diploma in Financial Planning issued by the CII

DipPFS: Diploma in Financial Planning issued by the PFS

DipFA: Diploma in Financial Advice issued by the IFS

IAD: Investment Advice Diploma issued by the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment

Building on the certificate knowledge, level 4 advisers will offer a well rounded understanding of financial planning and products, from general investments, structured products, to basic pension, protection, tax and savings advice.
Level 6 Financial Adviser Qualifications

A full two levels higher are the profession’s top tier of financial advisers; holders of level 6 qualifications equivalent to a bachelor honours degree. Completing a comprehensive suite of professional exams over many years, these top-flight advisers will be designated through one of the following:

APFS: Advanced Diploma in Financial Planning issued by the CII

CFPCM: Certified Financial Planner

Adv DipFA: Advanced Diploma in Financial Advice issued by the IFS

Advisers at this level will have advanced expertise in the main areas of general financial planning.

Clients who require expert advice in matters such as investment management and portfolio construction, complex estate planning, inheritance tax mitigation, the use of trusts in family wealth planning, pension and pension transfers, QROPS, personal tax planning, business financial planning or general holistic financial advice will always be better off consulting a level 6 adviser.

If your adviser claims a CII qualification use this link to check their credentials are up to date. Anyone claiming CII should be on this register.

http://www.cii.co.uk/web/app/membersearch/MemberSearch.aspx

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CISI qualifications information:

Follow a progressive study route consistent with career paths in the financial services sector. Practitioners working in, or looking for a career in, Paraplanning should complete the level 4 Certificate in Paraplanning. Practitioners looking to work towards obtaining the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER^TM certification should complete the RDR-compliant Investment Advice Diploma with the Financial Planning & Advice unit included.

The CISI is able to offer candidates an FCA approved, RDR-compliant direct study pathway leading to the level 6 Diploma in Financial Planning and the globally recognised CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER^TMcertification, the pinnacle designation for financial planning.

Holding a CISI qualificationmeans that you are qualified to give Pensions advice. Anyone who states they have this type of qualification should appear on the CISI register.

To check you financial advisers claims to a CISI follow the link below and pop their name into the search.

https://www.cisi.org/cisiweb2/cisi-website/join-us/cisi-member-directory

edit: After publishing this blog I was offered some more information about financial qualifications. Holding a DipFA gives you a qualification similar to the above levels 4-6 which means they are qualified to give financial advice on retail investments ie Pensions. Here’s their website so you can check any financial adviser who uses these letters after their name. Anyone claiming a DipFA should show up on their register.

https://www.libf.ac.uk/members-and-alumni/sps-and-cpd-register

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A company that rates well in being qualified & registered in Blevins Franks Spain, check out our series of blogs Qualified & registered? to see how the offshore companies who offer financial services rate on their staffs claimed qualifications, versus actually being qualified & registered – some of the results are VERY VERY scary.

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$Pension Life Blog - Qualified or not qualified that is the question - fractional scamming - Qualified Financial Adviser$

Some more points to bear in mind:

Even CII-registered qualified financial advisers can be bad guys. Despite being a fully qualified financial adviser AND a CII examiner, Stephen Ward, of Premier Pension Solutions has been responsible for a large number of scams. Ward was responsible for the ARK debacle, and he facilitated the CWM scam and Evergreen New Zealand QROPS. EDIT: Stephen Ward has been banned from acting as a pension trutsee!

Also, “introducers” lurk in the sidelines luring people in and then referring them in the direction of a qualified, regulated financial adviser, who in turn refers them to an insurance company, and finds a provider for the pension and investments etc etc. Unfortunately, this often results in not just one but several layers of commissions, charges and fees. These all take their toll on your fund. Often referred to as fractional scamming, all of these people get a chunk AND there’s an annual charge (regardless of performance – this is often a % of the original fund value); AND if/when you realise your fund is suffering you may well find there’s an exit fee to top it all off.

So when venturing out for financial advice, please ensure you know that your adviser has the correct qualifications and regulation for the advice they are giving. A good past-performance and track record would also be helpful.

Don´t be afraid to ask for proof of this – a qualified and ethical financial adviser will be happy to provide you with their credentials and background.

If the adviser veers away from the subject of qualifications, veer your custom and funds away quickly.

If the adviser avoids any question you would like answers to, avoiding giving him and his firm your custom.

Check all the facts and figures (absolutely all of them) before signing ANYTHING!

Get all the information in hard copy and read it at least three times or however many times you need to read it to be completely comfortable that you understand everything.

Be sure you know exactly where your funds are going, what the charges will be for the transfer and any annual fees and early exit penalties.

Keep a constant, regular check on the progress of your fund – many pension and investment providers now give online access to check the progress of your funds.

Choosing what to do with your pension can present a minefield of options and layers of paperwork which you might not understand. Ensuring the people you are dealing with are fully qualified financial advisers is a great start. Here´s a link to Pension Life members Pete and Val´s video, they were both victims of the CWM pension scam and have been left with decimated fund. Pete states,

“Assume nothing with these people, if you do your doomed.”

Please heed Pete´s advice and make sure you know all the facts about any proposed pension transfer and keep a regular check on how your pension is doing.

I am writing a series of blogs about pensions, pension scammers and how to safe guard your pension fund from fraudster. Please make sure you read as many as possible and ensure you know everything you should about your pension fund transfer. If we can educated the masses about pension fraud we can stop the scammers in their tracks – globally.

What is a Pension Scam?

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June 6, 2018
David Trinkwon – EEA Investors’ Group – RIP

Pension Life was saddened to hear the news that David Trinkwon has passed away. David Trinkwon, coordinator of the EEA Investors’ Group had for a number of years campaigned passionately against EEA Fund Management (Guernsey) Ltd – “EEAFMG”) to help 1000´s of victims of the toxic, collapsed fund.

David Trinkwon established EEA Litigation Management early in 2016 to pursue legal action against EEA Fund Management in a class action for investors who have been trapped in the fund since 2011. Between 2005 and 2011, it is estimated that EEA Fund Management took in around £600 million from investors.

Redemptions of the EEA fund were suspended in November 2011 after then FSA managing director Margaret Cole branded traded life settlements ‘toxic’ products. However, an earlier warning was made to the industry in early 2010. But this was deliberately ignored by both advisers and pension trustees as the investment introduction commissions were a very juicy 15%. Advisers such as Stephen Ward of Premier Pension Solutions in Moraira in Spain were flogging as much EEA as they could get out of the door to earn these commissions, and QROPS providers such as Concept Trustees in Guernsey were offering EEA as one of their (limited number of) investment choices. Further, Concept was in some cases accepting investment instructions from Stephen Ward for 100% of victims’ pension funds to be invested in this one toxic, high-risk fund.

Here at Pension Life, we applaud the work David Trinkwon has carried out so steadfastly and passionately for years. His hard work will be sorely missed in the world of prevention and cure of investment and pension scams. I personally met David on several occasions – in London and here in Spain. He had a great knowledge of the world of offshore finance and devoted a great deal of his time and effort to trying to help the thousands of EEA victims.

May 31, 2018
High Court Winds up Fast Pensions
Yesterday, Wednesday 30th May, in the High Court, the petition to wind up Fast Pensions and the associated companies and occupational pension schemes, was heard. The order was made that the companies and schemes should be wound up.

I would like to thank Michael Gibbon, the son of one of the Fast Pensions members, for attending the hearing and representing Pension Life and the 400 victims. Michael has been enormously supportive of our work behind the scenes – although this has clearly been hindered by the obfuscation of the Moats.

Michael has kindly summarised the details of the proceedings – and I have added some further information and thoughts.

I will now be asking all the Fast Pensions members to provide their documentation to my Assistant who will be collating as much evidence as possible for the Insolvency Service, insolvency practitioner and/or independent trustees.

The six companies originally placed into provisional liquidation by the Insolvency Service on 29th March 2018 were:
- Fast Pensions Ltd – company registration number 08121954 – was incorporated on 28 June 2012. The company’s registered office is at Crown House, 27 Old Gloucester Street, London WC1N 3AX
- FP Scheme Trustees Ltd – company registration number 09126225 – was incorporated on 11 July 2014. The company’s registered office is at 20-22 Wenlock Road, London N1 7GU
- Blu Debt Management Ltd – company registration number 06699233 – was incorporated on 16 September 2008. The company’s registered office is at Gilbert Wakefield House, 67 Bewsey Street, Warrington WA2 7JQ
- Blu Financial Services Ltd – company registration number 05912973 – was incorporated on 22 August 2006. The company’s registered office is at Gilbert Wakefield House, 67 Bewsey Street, Warrington WA2 7JQ
- Blu Personal Finance Ltd – company registration number 07758290 – was incorporated on 31 August 2011. The company’s registered office is at Gilbert Wakefield House, 67 Bewsey Street, Warrington WA2 7JQ
- Umbrella Loans Ltd – company registration number 07331044 – was incorporated on 30 July 2010. The company’s registered office is at Gilbert Wakefield House, 67 Bewsey Street, Warrington WA2 7JQ
The fifteen occupational schemes run by Peter and Sara Moat were:

Broughton Retirement Plan
DM1 Retirement Plan
Elphinstone Retirement Plan
EP1 Retirement Plan
Fleming Retirement Plan
FP1 Retirement Plan
FP2 Retirement Plan
FP3 Retirement Plan
Galileo Retirement Plan
Golden Arrow Retirement Plan
Leafield Retirement Plan
Springdale Retirement Plan
Talisman Retirement Plan
Templar Retirement Plan
VRSEB Retirement Plan

Despite the Moats being caught up in six companies and 15 occupational schemes no one was present to represent any of the named companies or schemes.

Peter and Sara Moat are not the only people connected in this pension liberation scam.

A connected party to the companies was Miss Jane Wright who is a former employee of Peter Moat. Mrs Sara Moat/Mr Peter Moat and Miss Jane Wright had an unhealthy connection as they were all in a net of other associated companies. A Mr Chapman – who did apply for administration before the last hearing but this was rejected – is also said to have been instructed by Peter Moat.

The Moats various companies were operating pension liberation schemes in the form of loans. The victims of these liberation schemes were later met with tax demands by HMRC as they payments they received were deemed as unauthorised payments.

When selling the schemes the Moats used unacceptable sales techniques – cold calling, mis-selling and with-holding important information were among these. Furthermore an upfront fee of £1,000 was taken from each investor at the start of the investment of the funds – and this was undisclosed to the members as well.

A total of £21m was transferred into the schemes under

Peter Moat’s control however there was no information on the pension portfolios and what happened to the investors’ funds. The victims have had no updates on the funds, commissions or fee´s. Miss Jane Wright (who acted as the “trustee”) would always state she would seek and come back when questioned by the members about their funds.

Furthermore it is now clear that Peter Moat was acting as a de facto director in breach of his disqualification while acting for Blu Finance Group.

AND

Mr Henderson – accountant to ALL the schemes was also a disqualified director.

In attendance for the Insolvency Service were Mary Greenwell, and colleague, Tim Ward, Provisional liquidator. With the following points being raised:

* There was a Lack of information and cooperation with the Insolvency Service investigation

* Failure to respond to determinations by the Pensions Ombudsman and/ no evidence of compensation paid to members

* No professional advisers were involved

* Commission on the investments were not disclosed – no transparency to the investors was given

* On reporting on schemes, there was simply one page per scheme which was very concerning

* Evidence of the lack of proper transfer requests

* The six selling points used to sell the schemes proved to be false

* Very unclear on the advice provided to investors

* No commercial prosperity

* No information re bank balances

* Lack of transparency to ALL involved – members/Insolvency Service/Pensions Ombudsman/Pension Life

* The skeleton argument showed a flowchart which demonstrated the net of the Moats

See how fast your pension can disappear?

All the companies involved in this scam were controlled by Peter Moat ( acting under disqualification) and using other people. The whereabouts of the funds presently is unclear – funds were transferred to and through other companies controlled by Peter Moat. Some of it was invested in Umbrella Loans which was insolvent. Some of it was transferred to the Blu companies.

All the funds will need to be traced as it is unclear what monies are outstanding, however with very limited information provided by the companies this may prove to be difficult. It is thought that a huge amount of funds will be practically impossible to track or find. Then there is the £4m paid in commission which obviously came from investors’ funds and is therefore no longer attainable.

What can be ascertained is the clear evidence of mis-selling and based on the evidence, it was in the public interest to wind the companies and schemes up as it was a very clear case that these people could not be allowed to continue

With all this evidence there was no doubt that the order should be made that the companies and schemes should be wound up.

What is a Pension Scam?
May 31, 2018
HOLBORN ASSETS – SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS

Spongebob Parker Squarepants of Holborn Assets has apparently been telling his salesmen that he has paid Glynis Broadfoot £150,000 in compensation for the destruction of her pension by Holborn Assets.

Not only is this a big porky pie (she hasn’t had a penny) but it is a cynical and dishonest tactic used to placate and dupe the Holborn Assets salesmen into wrongly believing that Spongebob has ethics. He doesn’t. If he had any morals, ethics or principles, he would come to the table and sort this appalling mess out.

Spongebob effectively stole Glynis’ life savings – a final salary scheme. Then invested her pension into an expensive and unnecessary insurance bond and purchased toxic, high-risk, professional-investor-only structured notes. He did all this to earn the maximum amount of commission – in the full knowledge that this would put her pension fund at risk. In fact, tactics identical to the Continental Wealth Management scam.

Glynis has now gone through more than five years of hell as she watched the systematic destruction of her pension. And now you can imagine how she feels reading reports of Holborn Assets’ vulgar and disgusting “jolly” in Tanzania which cost half a million quid. Despite making a series of totally inadequate offers, Spongebob has still to pay her a penny.

I hear on the grapevine that Spongebob is paranoid about any of his staff talking to me. He has even sacked one adviser – Claudia Shaw – on suspicion of communicating with me. It is true that quite a few Holborn Assets people have indeed communicated with me. These include – inter alia – Jerry Leahy, Joe Capaldi, Benjamin Thompson, Matthew Newman, James McMullen, Michael Cunningham, Ben Buckley, Marlon Bruges, Keren Bobker, Michele Carby and Syeda Al Iqtadar. Also, I’ve met Paul Reynolds and Chimaa Mefta at Holborn Assets’ Dubai offices. Also, Darin Brownlee-Jones tried to befriend me on Linkedin. Why hasn’t Spongebob sacked all of these people? He harbours a convicted killer and someone who was struck off and fined by the FCA. I’ve also been approached by various people claiming to work for Holborn Assets and offered a bribe to stop blogging about the company’s nefarious practices.

So, Uncle Spongebob – here’s my invitation. Stop sponging off Holborn Assets’ victims, come to the table and talk to me. Negotiate a decent redress package for Glynis and the others. Then, undertake to do business in an ethical, professional and compliant manner moving forward. Stop hosting binge-drinking, drug-snorting binges, and put in a place a proper compliance department.

Seriously, I don’t bite. I came to your office a couple of years back. You have ignored me since. So maybe now it is time for you to come to my office?

Simples! And then I can write nice blogs about you and the other Parkers saying what heroes you have been and what a good firm Holborn Assets is.

Your choice Mr. Squarepants 🙂

What is a Pension Scam?

May 30, 2018
TICKING TAX TIME BOMB ON LIFE SAVINGS

Welcome to my world – and the four letter word that sends a chill down most people’s spine: HMRC. A world where justice and taxation are not just in different countries, but on different continents. And, sadly, where thousands of British expats are living under the shadow of a ticking time bomb because of arrangements made with their pensions and life savings.

A few people are aware of the tax disaster that awaits them. But the majority have absolutely no idea and it is going to hit them as a devastating shock – whether from HMRC or their local tax authorities (or, in some cases, both).

Up to 2012, expats were routinely sending their pensions off to New Zealand – to the Superlife and Southern Star QROPS – and then busting 100% out. After the rules changed in April 2012, Stephen Ward set up the Evergreen QROPS/Marazion loan scam and up to 300 people bust 50% of their pensions out. It remains to be seen how the Spanish tax authorities will treat all these payments. It is unlikely to be pleasant for those affected.

For expats in Spain, the outlook can be grim. If there is a debt with HMRC for tax – say an unauthorised pension payment @ 55% – HMRC can send the debt to the Spanish Tributaria and they can then enforce the payment. If we think that HMRC is heartless, the Tributaria makes them look like the Sally Army. If a tax debt is unpaid, they will just have your bank account frozen and can also put your house up for auction.

In the Continental Wealth Management scam, large numbers of victims were paid compensation for the destruction of their pension funds by investing them in high-risk, toxic structured notes from firms such as Leonteq. But CWM had not bargained for the fact that in Spain the Tributaria would deem this to be taxable income – and the victims had a terrible surprise when the money they had used up to live on attracted a hefty tax bill for which they hadn’t budgeted.

Which brings me to Portfolio Bonds in general – and the SEB Life International “Spanish” one in particular. Many victims are fooled into thinking that because this product is heralded as “Spanish Compliant” that there is some degree of safety or security. There isn’t. SEB’s Spanish Portfolio bond is compliant from the Tributaria’s point of view because it reports annually on growth of the portfolio for tax purposes. However, that is all there is to it. And it is a waste of time anyway, because there often isn’t any growth – only loss. The huge quarterly charges by SEB erode any growth – and if toxic Leonteq structured notes have been used, there will be destruction of most or even all of the fund.

The Continental Wealth Management scandal – along with similar scams run by firms such as Holborn Assets – should have taught the industry conclusively that insurance bonds should not be used for pensions. They are too expensive and inflexible. The quarterly charges do increase when the fund value increases, but they don’t decrease when the fund is impaired – or even destroyed entirely. I have one member whose fund has gone from £250k to minus £57k as SEB simply kept taking their fees long after the fund was worthless.

An insurance bond (Personalised Portfolio Bond) can be used by an individual as an investment wrapper outside of the UK. This can be useful and tax efficient offshore. But when the investor goes back to the UK, there is a tax nightmare. Personalised Portfolio Bonds come under anti-avoidance legislation in the UK!

The horrible surprise that the investor will get upon returning to British soil is that HMRC can assume a deemed gain even if there is no gain at all, and charge tax on it. It is known often as the 15/15/15 rule and it leads to taxation even where the fund within the bond is losing money.

This situation only applies to investments within the Personalised Portfolio Bonds, selected by the policyholder, where the policyholder is a UK tax resident. The tax payable is at the policyholder’s highest rate. Even worse, the supposed tax efficiency of investment bonds does not work as top slicing relief (which normally lessens the blow and is often the cited reason for these bonds when sold to non-UK investors) does not apply to Personalised Portfolio Bonds.

Most people assume that tax is applied to actual gains made by the overall fund. And few offshore advisers have heard of the tax rules which apply in this situation (The Income Tax, Trading and other Income Act (ITTOIA) 2005 Sections 515 to 526). The devasting effect of this on an expat returning home is that the rules assume an annual gain of 15% of both the initial premium and the cumulative actual gains from the date the bond was established.

My friends at International Adviser published an article about this, by Chris Lean of TailorMade Pensions last month.

What is a Pension Scam?

May 27, 2018
SEB – NO TRUST – NO RESPECT – NO EXCUSE

SEB – NO TRUST – NO RESPECT – NO EXCUSE. SEB’s many victims have no trust or respect for this disgraceful firm which has failed them so dismally. There has been no excuse for SEB’s appalling behaviour – and now is the time for SEB to put the damage right.

This week, SEB had the gall to write to its many victims as below:

From: <no-reply@seb.ie>
Date: 22 de mayo de 2018, 17:03:52 CEST
To: <SEBvictim@yahoo.co.uk>
Subject: Important information regarding the General Data Protection Regulation

Dear client,

We respect the trust you place in us when you share your information with us. So we are letting you know about improvements to how we use, store and share the information we hold about you.

The European Union is introducing new legislation, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which comes into effect on 25^th May 2018. GDPR significantly changes data protection law in Europe.

Yours sincerely,

Orla Golden
Operations Manager SEB Life International

Phone: +353 1 487 0700

Trust? Respect? Is Orla Golden having an 18-carat laugh? Does he truly think that a single one of SEB’s victims gives a damn about their “information”? Doesn’t he think that, actually, all SEB’s victims would love to share the information that they have been ripped off, conned and scammed by SEB? And that while their life savings continue to dwindle away to nothing, SEB is continuing to charge extortionate quarterly fees?

The European Union should ban scammers like SEB (and Generali) from operating in Spain and the whole of Europe. SEB is a disgusting parasite and brings the whole of the financial services industry into disrepute. SEB took business from an unlicensed firm of known scammers (Continental Wealth Management) and then sat back and watched while toxic structured notes destroyed hundreds of victims’ life savings. And did NOTHING.

Who at SEB is responsible for the travesty of the destruction of hundreds of victims of the Continental Wealth Management scam? And the terrible stress these people are going through? This guy:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/conor-j-mccarthy-8419263/

Conor J. McCarthy. And his email address is conor.mccarthy@seb.ie

His Linkedin profile claims that he is European Sales Director with responsibility for Intermediary sales with SEB Life International. That means that he was responsible for accepting business from Continental Wealth Management and for the destruction of millions of pounds’ worth of life savings. He took millions of pounds worth of business from an unlicensed firm of known scammers and accepted investments in toxic, high-risk structured notes – including the fraudulent Leonteq ones – knowing full well that the victims were low/medium risk pension savers.

Mr. McCarthy also claims that: “As a qualified financial adviser (QFA) I have a keen understanding of financial planning and investment needs of international clients. As a marketing graduate, I try to communicate in such a way that it all makes sense to clients.” I really don’t think that any of SEB’s victims have any trouble understanding the communications that reported their losses.

As a marketing graduate, Mr. McCarthy should understand that the best way to “market” a company is to compensate the victims without them having to sue SEB.

The managing director of SEB is Peder Nateus and I assume his email address must be peder.nateus@seb.ie

So let us all share our information about SEB’s sickening behaviour and tell the European Union what we all think about SEB as publicly as possible.

May 25, 2018