Malta has announced changes to the way their QROPS funds will be regulated. The changes will come into effect from 2nd July 2018, meaning that clients introduced by an adviser regulated only for insurance business will not be accepted as an investment adviser. A letter this week from STM Malta reads: “We are writing […]
Maltese QROPS regulations to change Read More »
Just a few weeks ago we reported on Mike Pickett, the first British Steelworker – SIPPS pension scam victim. But now there is more shocking news on Celtic Wealth Management – the culprits behind this toxic transfer which found victims’ pension funds put in danger in February of this year. It would seem Celtic “advisers”
Celtic Wealth Management BRIBED British Steelworkers Read More »
One small stumble for the Isle of Man – one giant leap for victims of OMI and CWM. We never thought the litigation against the scourge of financial services – the insurance giant Old Mutual International – was going to be easy. And we knew these negligent and greedy firms would try every trick in
OMI AND IOM DEFEATED BY SPANISH COURT Read More »
Oh dear, Holborn Assets has fallen at the first fence – even before I’ve started the race! You couldn’t make it up. And typical of scammers, Holborn Assets is very concerned about the interests of their company and their profits, but couldn’t care less about the victims it has ruined. This Leahy guy can’t even
Holborn Assets “Smere Campaign” Read More »
Guardian Wealth Management and the two-horse race with Holborn Assets This is the start of Guardian Wealth Management week – following the end of Holborn Assets week. Apart from bleats from Holborn Assets salesmen that I was compromising their chances of destroying more victims’ pensions, nobody has come forward and proposed realistic compensation offers for
Guardian Wealth Management and the two-horse race with Holborn Assets Read More »
Seems we can´t get enough of Holborn Assets’ cheek this week. CEO Bob Parker has sent out a Q1 2018 newsletter and included on his mailing list a very unsatisfied and traumatised client who, through Holborn Assets’ negligence, has suffered a significant loss to her pension fund, with no compensation – or even apology. Glynis Broadfoot
Holborn Assets – What a cheek! Read More »
Having read Henry Tapper’s A Master Class in Fractional Scamming, here at Pension Life we feel we should share some facts with our readers about the “trending” investment and pension scam of 2018 – fractional scamming. First of all here´s a bit about the fractional scam: Today with new regulations, pension liberation has pretty much
Fractional scamming – The trending pension scam Read More »
EXCLUSIVE: Holborn Assets opens new office in South Africa. Oh, how wonderful for them! However, not so wonderful for the new victims Holborn will obviously be trying to scam into losing large percentages of their pension funds. None of the existing victims have received compensation yet for their crippling losses due to expensive insurance bonds,
Holborn Assets Johannesburg – Damaging more life savings? Read More »
A happy tale for the end of the week… not just one but two firms have been told they must compensate clients for poor advice on SIPPS transfers. A great victory against all firms using SIPPS to disguise their ill-advised pension scams sorry schemes. Financial Planning today reported that: The Financial Ombudsman Service has ruled
Victory for SIPPS Pension Scam Victims Read More »
Fast Pensions, run by Peter and Sara Moat, is finally to be wound up. There will be a hearing at the High Court in Manchester on 30th May 2018. The winding-up petition also includes the 15 pension schemes run by the Moats, FP Scheme Trustees and four loan companies. This follows a special measure by
FAST PENSIONS TO DIE A SLOW DEATH Read More »
I am saddened to write about the first (but probably not the last) British Steelworker who has fallen victim to an investment scam as well as a pension scam. The British Steelworker was persuaded to transfer his DB pension AND invest £35,000 of his personal saving into an unregulated fund – Dolphin Trust (in Germany). More
British Steelworker – SIPPS Pension Scam Victim Read More »
Pension Life is pleased to report that the FCA has woken up long enough to do a spot of regulating and has won an important case over the promotion of unregulated investment schemes. The firm flogging the schemes, Capital Alternatives, must pay back nearly £17m to investors. The FCA alleged that Capital Alternatives used “false,
A win for the FCA against Capital Alternatives Read More »
A fine journalist at International Investment reports that Old Mutual International is taking legal action against Leonteq. She reports that this action is being taken on the basis that Leonteq lied about commissions paid to advisers for using high-risk structured notes. This news is, of course, very welcome news – especially if it succeeds in securing
OMI SUES LEONTEQ over undisclosed commissions Read More »
EVERGREEN RETIREMENT TRUST QROPS SCAM – HOW DID IT ALL WORK? Victims were cold called by Continental Wealth Management (CWM) and duped into transferring their UK pensions into the Evergreen New Zealand QROPS on the promise that they could access 50% of their pension. CWM acted as the “sister” company to Stephen Ward’s Premier Pension
EVERGREEN RETIREMENT TRUST QROPS SCAM Read More »
In the wake of hundreds of victims fearing heavy pension losses in the Blackmore Global fund, we now have another disaster waiting to happen: Blackmore Bond. This new threat to unwary investors has been analysed by Bond Review. Just to be clear, many people were duped into investing their pensions in the Blackmore Global UCIS
BLACKMORE BOND – SHAKEN OR STIRRED – CARELESS OR STUPID? Read More »
EVERGREEN – HARD-TO-SWALLOW, EVER-GRIM QROPS Why hard to swallow? Around 300 victims of this pension liberation scam are anxiously waiting to see whether they can ever get any of their fund out – and whether there is anything left of the original £10 million. A few victims have got out successfully over the past few
EVERGREEN – HARD-TO-SWALLOW, EVER-GRIM QROPS SCAM Read More »
QROPS provider STM Group’s Alan Kentish, is delighted to deliver reports of record profits for 2017. I wonder how delighted the victims of his previous scam, the Trafalgar Multi Asset Fund, are to hear this. I think we’d be more delighted to hear that Kentish planned to pay all the victims of this investment fraud (currently
Alan Kentish of STM Groups delivers news of record profits for 2017 Read More »
Here at Pension Life, we are well aware of QROPS and SIPPs providers being a favorite of the serial pension scammers and are very pleased to report that there is positive news of better protection against this, on the horizon. Three years ago the Pension Liberation Industry Group (PLIG) launched a code of practice to
Better Protection Against QROPS Pension Scams from PLIG Read More »
COMPLAINTS AGAINST ROGUE FIRMS: It is no secret that the FCA is embarrassingly hopeless. But now it is time to put the other professional bodies to the test: the ICAEW and the SRA. IFAs aren’t the only firms which screw up – accountants and solicitors can be just as bad. I am now putting in
COMPLAINTS AGAINST ROGUE FIRMS – “Lies ahead” Read More »
DEMAND FOR LEONTEQ’S SWISS DERIVATIVES AWARDS TO BE WITHDRAWN alex.geissbuehler@gwp.ch, reto.weber@gwp.ch, stephan.welti@gwp.ch, pia.aeberhard@gwp.ch, admira.besic@gwp.ch, regine.wolfensberger@gwp.ch, media@leonteq.com, info@payoff.ch (Interesting use of the phrase “pay off” in the awards organisers’ email address above – I wonder who got paid off to make this disgusting award.) DEMAND FOR LEONTEQ’S SWISS DERIVATIVES AWARDS TO BE WITHDRAWN On behalf of hundreds of victims of the Continental Wealth
DEMAND FOR LEONTEQ’S AWARDS TO BE WITHDRAWN BY SWISS DERIVATIVES AWARDS Read More »
SALMON ENTERPRISES TAX TRIBUNAL VERDICT: The Salmon Enterprises victims will have to wait until after Easter for the verdict on the Salmon Enterprises Tax Tribunal appeal. This will be a very anxious time for the victims of James Lau – currently under criminal investigation – and the directors of Tudor Capital Management currently serving eight-year
SALMON ENTERPRISES TAX TRIBUNAL VERDICT Read More »
I’ve decided on a radical career change. I’m going to study to become a psychiatrist. My first patient is going to be Prof. Dr. Marc Oliver Rieger who voted Leonteq as best peddler of toxic, high-risk, crappy structured notes at the Swiss Derivatives Awards. Even before I qualify, I already know what treatment this idiot needs:
SWISS DERIVATIVES AWARD 2018 – LEONTEQ – SERIOUSLY? Read More »
DEALING WITH STRESS WHEN SCAMMED OUT OF YOUR PENSION Being scammed out of a big chunk of your pension once is bad enough. But TWICE is awful. Double pension scam victim Jessica M.J. talks about her experience and gives other victims advice about how to cope with the stress that results from being a pension
DEALING WITH STRESS WHEN SCAMMED OUT OF YOUR PENSION Read More »
LEONTEQ “DRIVEN BY POSITIVE CLIENT SENTIMENT” (Really?) In their 2017 annual report, rogue structured note provider Leonteq has reported “GROWTH ACROSS ALL REGIONS – Driven by positive client sentiment and solid demand for structured products”. I have no idea what sort of claptrap Marco Amato, CEO and CFO of Leonteq, thinks he is spinning in the 2017
LEONTEQ “DRIVEN BY POSITIVE CLIENT SENTIMENT” Read More »
CONTINENTAL WEALTH MANAGEMENT BY JODY KIRBY (OR SMART OR BELL) – Now that Continental Wealth Management/Trust boss, Darren Kirby, is coming back to Spain to help sort out the mess, it is time to engage with his former partner, Jody, to find out what she has been doing to resolve the losses suffered by hundreds
CONTINENTAL WEALTH MANAGEMENT BY JODY KIRBY (OR SMART OR BELL) Read More »
COMPLAINT TO OMI, THE ISLE OF MAN FINANCIAL SERVICES AUTHORITY, THE CENTRAL BANK OF IRELAND, FINANCIAL SERVICES AND PENSIONS OMBUDSMAN AND THE ASSOCIATION OF INTERNATIONAL LIFE OFFICES ATTENTION: Martin Middleton, CEO Michael Hampson Complaints Handler | Complaints Team | Old Mutual International T: 44 (0) 1624 655451 | Int Ext: 75451 F: 44 (0) 1624 611715 E: omifmcomplaints@ominternational.com | W: www.oldmutualinternational.com Isle of Man Financial Services
Pension scammers are hidden all around us, often dressed in smart clothes, driving smart cars and carrying impressive leather folders. They offer what seems like smart investments, push through your pension fund transfer swiftly and seamlessly. However what you don´t see on the surface is their hidden parasitic ways. These scammers will drain the funds
Top 10 Deadliest Pension Scammers Read More »
Having focused very much on bad pension investments, pension scams and how to avoid them, I´d like to talk a bit about PensionBee, a relatively new pension provider. PensionBee offers the service of consolidating all your pension funds into one online fund. You are able to check your balance at any time and have a
Be safe with PensionBee! Read More »
John (Gus) Ferguson’s firm, Square Mile International, is clearly not exactly square – and Lillywhite is a grubby shade of black. For once, I don’t have to write a blog myself – as Mr. Ferguson of Square Mile has written it for me. I did, however, have to resist the temptation to correct Fatty’s appalling
NOT SO SQUARE MILE – AND FAR FROM LILLY WHITE Read More »
James Hay, the first UK SIPPS provider, could face tax charges of up to £20 million from HMRC, related to the Elysian Bio Fuel investment scam (sorry: scheme). Elysian Bio Fuels, which owned a bioethanol plant in the US and a renewable fuels refinery in the UK, was also used by other SIPPS providers such
James Hay + Elysian Bio fuel = Pension Liberation Scam Read More »
There are many different types of pension scam – just as there are many types of genuine pension scheme. This can sometimes make it difficult to tell the difference so we are her to help you inform you about, what is a pension scam. Fortunately, there are some common tell-tale signs that mean you could
What is a Pension Scam? Read More »
Debbie Abrahams takes a stand in parliament, raising the question of, “how many more pensions scandals does she (Esther McVey, Secretary of State, Work and Pensions) need before she introduces the robust regulatory oversight needed to protect peoples’ pensions for the future?“ Debbie Abrahams (pictured) has been a Member of Parliament for Oldham East and Saddleworth
Why are so many working people losing their pension funds? Read More »
HAVE YOU HEARD OF PAUL HERD? HE’S AT ELITE WEALTH MANAGEMENT. Before joining Elite Wealth Management, Paul Herd was with a firm called MFS Partnership – which went belly up. Now, I have never run a financial advisory firm. If I had a fanciful idea of starting one, I probably wouldn’t know where to start –
HAVE YOU HEARD OF PAUL HERD? HE’S AT ELITE WEALTH MANAGEMENT. Read More »
BBC Radio 4’s You & Yours reports on three victims of a pension investment scam called Blackmore Global, two of whom were cold called by David Vilka of Square Mile International Financial. The three victims were persuaded to transfer their funds from secure company pensions into QROPS (Qualifying Overseas Pension Schemes). The victims have since struggled
BBC 4’s You & Yours Exposes Blackmore Global Pension Scam Read More »
STM Fidecs has played its “get out of jail free” card, avoided January’s court hearing and agreed to “cooperate” with the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission (GFSC) – allowing auditors Deloitte to probe STM’s dirty books. I was more than a little miffed because I was looking forward to a nice day out in Gibraltar. I
STM FIDEC’S VARIOUS NEFARIOUS BOOKS Read More »
Julian Hanson – why pension scammers must be prosecuted. And jailed. BARRATT AND DALTON PENSION SCAM: The Pensions Regulator has announced that on 23 January 2018, four pension scammers have been ordered to pay back £13.7 million they stole from their victims. BARRATT AND DALTON PENSION LIBERATION SCAM: 245 victims had their pension funds stolen
Julian Hanson – why pension scammers must be prosecuted Read More »
Structured notes – say NO to them if an adviser wants to invest your pension in them. They are high-risk investments which are for professional investors ONLY – and not for ordinary retail investors – especially pensions. Say NO to structured notes for pensions! Structured notes have been used as pension investments for some years.
Say NO to structured notes for pensions! Read More »
QUILTER – A NEW HOBBY FOR OMI? OMI – Old Mutual International – needs to compensate thousands of victims of financial crime which they facilitated. I can’t make up my mind whether they are adopting the brand “Quilter” to attempt to shake off their sordid and toxic past, or whether they are actually taking up
QUILTER – A NEW HOBBY FOR OMI? Read More »
OMI – Old Mutual International (Quilter), SEB, ZURICH, GENERALI, FRIENDS PROVIDENT, ZURICH INTERNATIONAL, RL360 AND HANSARD INTERNATIONAL. They are all as bad as each other. They rip their clients off, charging them huge fees and commissions, tying them into useless, pointless products for years. These LIFE OFFICES – which cause the death of many life savings
OMI – AND OTHER GRIM REAPERS Read More »
The Serious Fraud Office has written to Frank Field – Chairman of the Pensions Select Committee. The SFO was responding to Frank’s request for details about pension fraud cases prosecuted by the SFO and about the fraudsters’ various scamming techniques. It is obviously essential to recognise and understand these techniques so that police authorities, regulators,
Pension Scams: Investigations and prosecutions by SFO Read More »
Old Mutual International (OMI) is at the heart of much of what is wrong with offshore financial services. The CWM debacle clearly evidences this. OMI, formerly Skandia and soon to be Quilter, provided the vehicle used to wipe out thousands of victims’ life savings – not only in the CWM scam, but also with many
OMI? OMG! SAME OLD, SAME OLD MUTUAL – SAME OLD LIES Read More »
When a pension or investment scam implodes (as they always do), it is important to keep tabs on where the scammers go next, what they are doing next and who is helping them. In the case of the Continental Wealth Management scam – headed up by Darren Kirby and purported to be the “sister” company
Ex Continental Wealth Scammers – where are they now? Read More »
CHARLIE CHARLIE, SAUSAGE AND CHIPS – WATCH OUT BRITISH STEEL WORKERS! I’ve just read Henry Tapper’s blog and Frank Field’s letter to Clive Howells of Celtic Wealth Management. What struck me about Henry’s blog was that he has summarised a new version of the same old, same old situation we’ve seen many times before over
CHARLIE CHARLIE, SAUSAGE AND CHIPS – WATCH OUT BRITISH STEEL WORKERS! Read More »
The BSPS dilemma for steelworkers is clearly difficult with very little time to consider options and make a wise decision which will affect them for the rest of their lives. There’s a whole team of willing voluntary professional advisers trying to provide some guidance to help people avoid making the wrong decision. This team includes eminent
BSPS – Pension Dilemma for Steel Workers Read More »
I am very pleased indeed to announce that on 6th December 2017, Beacon Global Wealth Management terminated Richard Peasley’s employment. There was no hesitation, no argument. Beacon’s David Vacani is also responding to numerous Continental Wealth Management victims who have complained about Richard Peasley’s employment with Beacon. I have no doubt David Vacani will correspond
BEACON GLOBAL WEALTH MANAGEMENT EMPLOYS EX CWM SCAMMER Read More »
Phillip Nunn has been reported to Action Fraud – which John Ferguson of Square Mile Financial Services describes as being “nobody and with no authority” – on numerous occasions by victims of various scams. Phillip Nunn, cold caller and “fund manager” of the Blackmore Global investment scam, was given the Entrepreneur of the Year Award
PHILLIP NUNN – SCAM OF THE YEAR – BLACKMORE GLOBAL Read More »
STM Fidecs needed a safe Harbour. And now they’ve got one – but is it really safe? LETTER TO ALAN KENTISH – CEO OF STM FIDECS: Dear Al, hope you are well. I’m not anticipating a response to this because I know how difficult it must be to type emails when you’re wearing handcuffs. However,
STM FIDECS – SAFE HARBOUR FOR ALAN KENTISH Read More »
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
Protected: Shaw Gibbs – Accountants and Business Advisers Read More »
SCAMS AND SCANDALS SYMPOSIUM – PART OF THE TRANSPARENCY TASK FORCE: WEDNESDAY 15TH NOVEMBER AT THE OFFICES OF IG GROUP, 12.30 TO 5PM Pension and investment scams and scandals are a blight on financial services and saving for retirement. The energetic and inspired campaign by Darren Cooke of Red Circle successfully raised awareness of the
SCAMS AND SCANDALS SYMPOSIUM – TRANSPARENCY TASK FORCE 15.11.17 Read More »
STM Fidecs, the Gibraltar-based trustee firm used for the Trafalgar Multi Asset Scam, is now the subject of large numbers of complaints to the Gibraltar authorities. Hundreds of victims of XXXX XXXX’s unlicensed “advice” transferred safe UK pensions to a Gibraltar STM Fidecs QROPS and then he invested 100% of their funds into his own
STM Fidecs – Trafalgar Multi Asset Scam Read More »
