There is no question: Andrew Bailey has failed; he must go – the FCA has failed; it must be replaced by a proper regulator. Wednesday 6th November will see victims of failed investments – repeatedly promoted by negligent or fraudulent “advisers” or brokers – protesting outside the Bank of England from 8.30 a.m. onwards. Hopefully […]
Protest 6th November against FCA failures Read More »
Happy Halloween – but do watch out for scary monsters. ESPECIALLY PENSION SCAMMERS! The scariest monsters at Halloween (or, indeed, at any time of the year) are the bad guys in financial services. As my dear old Mum used to say: “It’s not the dead you should be afraid of – it’s the living”. Never
Halloween ghouls and scammers Read More »
The Kiwis were grass and England was a lawnmower. For a couple of hours we forgot Brexit and remembered our national pride. In a Week that saw an inconclusive result in the UK v Europe match (yet again), at least England taught New Zealand how to play rugby. And the battle against pension scams moved
Pension Life – Pension File October 2019 Read More »
GFS QROPS LIQUIDATION: It is with a heavy heart that I have decided to ask the GFS Superannuation Scheme 2 (Hong Kong QROPS) members to support a petition for the winding up of the scheme and the liquidation of the underlying assets. For two years, I have been waiting for due process through the courts
GFS QROPS LIQUIDATION Read More »
Jody Smart (or Bell or Kirby or whatever name she uses now) appeared in the Criminal Court in Denia on 1st October 2019. As one of the group of defendants in the fraud trial – including her former partner Darren Kirby (who didn’t turn up) – she testified about her involvement in the £100 million
Jody Smart of CWM – courting justice Read More »
When I grow up, I want to be a hairdresser. Not a care in the World other than how short/long/blonde/purple/curly/straight my clients want their Barnets. And nothing to talk about other than where they will go on holiday: Torremolinos, Benidorm or Amsterdam (wink wink…). But for now, I’m stuck in the real World – the
Money First – World First Read More »
By August 2019, one billion pounds’ worth of investments had been lost. That’s an awful lot of noughts: £1,000,000,000 (I nearly ran out of fingers). How many hours’ worth of work went into earning that huge amount? How many miles of travelling to work to earn that money? How many dreams have been shattered? How
£1 billion + investment losses in 2019 Read More »
The FC A hasn’t got a ****ing Scooby. The Federation of Consolidated Apathy has now proved way beyond reasonable doubt that it is clueless about pensions in general. And worse – much worse – that it doesn’t understand the deadly problems with DB pension transfer advice. The Federation of Consolidated Apathy has published a video
DB transfers: FCA hasn’t a Scooby Read More »
Alliance Partnership – ‘ere we go again! Just how many warning signs do you need? Alliance Partnership – ‘ere we go again! After the Continental Wealth Management debacle – a fraud facilitated by the usual suspects: Old Mutual International, Generali and SEB – the public must be warned about similar firms which are likely to
Alliance Partnership – ‘ere we go again! Read More »
Action Fraud – the biggest fraud of all. No “action”; plenty of “fraud”. Fraud victims defrauded into believing action will be taken. Of course, pension scam victims have known this for years. This is true of all the thousands of victims of frauds committed by serial pension scammers – such as Stephen Ward, Alan Fowler,
Action Fraud biggest fraud of all Read More »
Mail on Sunday’s Laura Shannon met a group of victims of the Continental Wealth Management scam in Denia in July 2019. Here is a link to her excellent article Continental Wealth Management – “Plunder in paradise”: MAIL ON SUNDAY ARTICLE All power to her, this young lady put all other would-be investigative journalists to shame.
Continental Wealth Management – “Plunder in paradise” Read More »
Locked out of LinkedIn for Defamation? Moi? “Due to the receipt of multiple defamation claim reports, your account has been restricted pending your agreement to our terms. Please note that it’s our policy to terminate user accounts when we receive multiple reports of this nature.” But who could have reported me for defamation? The problem
Locked Out of LinkedIn Read More »
STEEL YOURSELF FOR A LETTER FROM LINLITHGOW BY ALAN STEEL A SHORT HISTORY OF RISK AND REWARD Always happy to sit back and let somebody else do all the work. This week Alan Steel of Alan Steel Asset Management has kindly volunteered to do this for me. Alan is writing – knowledgeably
Boris Johnson for PM – sorting out pension scams? Hey BJ – just a quick note to wish you luck in the PM contest. If you win, please make it your priority to sort out pension fraud. Treating head lice – like fighting pension scammers – is a matter of the utmost urgency. Everyone knows
Dear Boris – when you’re PM… Read More »
Woodford Equity Income Fund – perhaps a wonderful opportunity to get investment management and advice right at last? There is a huge difference between an investment scam and a fund which is in trouble because of an error of judgement (as pointed out by Stephen Sefton – an expert on pension and investment scams as
Woodford – right investment wrong investors? Read More »
Blevins Franks has reported Pension Life for defamation on LinkedIn – a right old cock up as all I did was state the facts and the truth as defined by Spanish law and regulations. Dear Blevins Franks. I am very upset about the Blevins Franks cock up with LinkedIn. You think I’ve written something defamatory,
Blevins Franks Cock Up Read More »
Fact Finds and Risk assessments are critical to measuring a clients appetite for risk and their subsequent suitability for particular schemes. Too often these are overlooked and products with high commissions are sold. This needs to change. Standard 4 of our 10 standards is key to this change.
Full Fact Finds and Measured Risks make the world a better place Read More »
WRITTEN BY ELIZABETH FLYNN: I went to buy a new mattress the other day. Thought I’d treat myself to a good quality mattress from a reputable retail outlet. The latest developments in bedding technology mean that choosing a new mattress requires much soul searching after an incredibly detailed fact find and risk assessment. Naively, I
What’s wrong with financial services? Almost as painful and debilitating as what’s wrong with my foot! I’ve just been diagnosed with plantar fasciitis. I write this partly in the hope of getting some (richly-deserved) sympathy, and party because it illustrates what is so terribly wrong with financial services (especially offshore). It all started with a
PLANTAR FASCIITIS and what’s wrong with financial services. Read More »
What is a death bond? Also known as a life bond, portfolio bond, executive bond, offshore bond – or, if you are a commission-based broker – an 8% commission bond. Who provides death bonds? The usual suspects (many of whom also provide ghastly long-term savings plans that ruin savers): Old Mutual International RL360 SEB Lombard
Dolphin Trust is now called The German Property Group. Former founder and director Charles Smethurst has left. Hundreds – possibly thousands – of investors (lenders) are now hung out to dry. Dolphin isn’t answering the phone as people are desperate to find out if and when they will get their money back. Dolphin has a
Dolphin Trust – a matter of serious regret Read More »
Indemnity Insurance is an absolute must for your financial advisor. If he can not prove to you that his indemnity will cover 100% of your pension or investment then you should walk away immediately! Through our studies of numerous scams across the world we have found that many scams operate with below par indemnity. In
John’s Nightmare aboard Scamair Read More »
DEADLY AUSTRALIAN (AND OTHER) TOXIC INVESTMENT FAILURES LM Management Performance Currency Protected Australian Income LM First Mortgage Income Premier Eco Resources LM Wholesale First Mortgage Premier New Earth Recycling Solutions Institutional Currency Protected Australian Income New Earth Solutions Recycling Facilities Axiom Legal Financing Kijani We could write thousands of pages about these toxic, risky, illiquid
LM and other monstrous failed funds Read More »
A High Court Judge has called for an investigation into the FCA’s dismal failings over the lack of action prior to the collapse of the London Capital & Finance bond. More than a dozen MPs have also called for Andrew Bailey – £600k a year head of the FCA – to go. High court judge
FCA head Andrew Bailey must go (over London Capital & Finance bond scandal) Read More »
An elderly lady consulted Hollingsworth International Financial Services in Malta about her life savings in 2011. She told Hollingsworth’s employee Paul Tilbrook she wanted her funds invested safely and cautiously. Her savings amounted to over £400,000 and she wanted to move them to a safe pair of hands to make sure her capital was protected. The adviser promised her that her money would not only be protected, but that it would be “actively managed” to ensure diversity and growth. In reality something very different happened.
Is your IFA a snake in the grass? Read More »
Hope for Continental Wealth Management victims. Meet John Smith who is in a spot of financial bother. But who will come to the rescue?
Most qualified advisers want nothing to do with pension scams. Many offshore firms employ advisers who have not passed the required exams. Even if an adviser has qualified, he or she must still be registered. Meet John. He has been scammed and is desperatedly seeking to find out how this can happen.
Fighting pension scams – Qualifications Investigation Read More »
Fighting pension scams needs to be done logically and methodically. Decent advisers need to use high standards to help fight scams. If these standards become the norm, the scammers won’t survive and flourish so easily. Fighting pension scams – Qualifications Most qualified advisers want nothing to do with pension scams. Many offshore firms employ advisers
Fighting pension scams – Qualifications Read More »
Fighting pension scams: Regulation If it was easy to stop pension scams, everyone would be doing it. Clearing up the mess left behind a pension scam is a huge challenge. This is why clear international standards need to be recognised and adopted. The scammers are like flocks of vultures. If people only used regulated firms,
Fighting pension scams: Regulation Read More »
Blackmore Bond – yet another reason why only regulated advisers should be used for investment advice. The clear link between the recently-failed LCF Bond and Blackmore Bond through Surge Group remind us how important regulated investment advisers are. In the news again is the troubled Blackmore Group. This time we read that they have ‘temporarily’
Blackmore Bond – yet another failed investment? Read More »
A SLICE OF THE ACTION by Joshua Parfitt of the Olive Press EXCLUSIVE: Expats who lost millions to dodgy finance firm CWM fear action group boss may be scamming them too. It is a sad fact that people who have been victims of a scam will never fully trust anybody ever again. One thousand people
Olive Press Article on Continental Wealth Management Read More »
HOW DO PENSION SCAMS WORK? Every pension scam starts with a negligent transfer. Ceding providers hand over millions of pounds to pension scammers every year. Firms – from Aviva to Zurich – ignore warnings by regulators and HMRC. The providers tick their boxes; the scammers make their millions; the victims are ruined. The ceding providers
Transferring pensions to scammers – the ABC of shame Read More »
The Pension Scams Industry Group (PSIG) has carried out a pilot survey on pension scams. The survey has identified seven key findings and concluded that most scams are carried out by rogue advisers and unregulated “introducers”. This is something we write about regularly, so it is great that PSIG has finally caught up. Henry Tapper
Lack of knowledge leads to loss of funds – rogue advisers Read More »
THE DIZZEE RASCALS AT THE FCA: My exasperation and disgust at the FCA’s incompetence has for years been very profound. However, learning that Andrew Bailey – CEO of the FCA – gets paid 18% more than the whole whistleblowing team of 12, has made me feel two things: Enormous respect for the gentlemanly and (IMHO)
FCA boss £589,000 – Whistleblowing team £500,000 Read More »
April 2019 sees the battle between Store First and the Insolvency Service. On April 15th, the High Court proceedings will kick off. As a result, the Store First v Insolvency Service will determine how many people will lose their pensions permanently. Two sets of very expensive lawyers – DWF and Eversheds Sutherland – will battle
Store First v Insolvency Service Battle Read More »
In the run up to the High Court proceedings to hear the Insolvency Service’s petition to wind up Store First, here is some background. This is an abridged version of the Insolvency Service’s witness statement regarding the Store First pension investment scam. It involved two bogus occupational pension schemes set up and administered by Stephen
Store First v Insolvency Service Battle – the Insolvency Service’s Witness Statement Read More »
I read an interesting article recently which has prompted this blog, written by Blair duQuesnay, CFA®, CFP® – an investment adviser at Ritholtz Wealth Management, LLC. Blair suggests that the most important change needed in the financial industry is qualifications. Poorly qualified advisers give poor investment advice. Bad investments advice leads to loss of funds. Blair has
Raising standards – financial advisers and qualifications Read More »
In every pension scam there is one beginning, lots of middles, and always a wretched ending for the victim and a profitable ending for the scammers. The beginning is always a negligent, lazy, box-ticking transfer by a ceding provider – the worst of which always tend to be the likes of Standard Life, Prudential, Scottish
Who killed the pension? Scammers; ceding providers; introducers; HMRC? Read More »
Another high-risk investment fund goes belly up. London Capital & Finance (LCF) has gone into administration, not long after taking a whopping £236m of investments – much of which was from first-time investors. It is thought that 12,000 investors have been financially ruined. This tragic news comes as plans are being drawn up to take
London Capital & Finance collapses Read More »
The mis-selling of life assurance policies and long-term savings plans has been a regular topic in our blogs. Many victims of pension scams see their funds mis-invested into life assurance policies. These life assurance policies do little more than drain the fund value with their expensive fees and costs. Generali has for years been aggressively
Generali – jumping ship to avoid new regulations? Read More »
Pension Life is now submitting complaints to the Pensions Ombudsman against ceding pension trustees who handed over members’ pension funds to scams and scammers. These negligent transfers have ruined thousands of lives and cost victims hundreds of millions of pounds’ worth of losses. Some victims have already died and others are contemplating suicide. Complaints against negligent
PENSION OMBUDSMAN COMPLAINTS AGAINST NEGLIGENT CEDING TRUSTEES Read More »
20% Black Hole in Blackmore Global It is no secret that we have little confidence in the Blackmore Global Group run by Phillip Nunn and Patrick McCreesh – two of the scammers who promoted Capita Oak and earned nearly £1 million from providing “leads” for the cold callers. Capita Oak is now under investigation by
20% Black Hole in Blackmore Global Read More »
Ten Essential Standards For Pension Advice: The ongoing war against pension scammers continues with no sign that the end is near. The authorities stand idly by – facilitating mis-selling and outright fraud. HMRC happily registers pension scam after scam after scam (followed by tax demands). Prosecutions are few and far between. The only conclusive way to
Ten Essential Standards For Pension Advice Read More »
When we buy certain products, they have a warning on them. Cigarette packets, for instance, state that smoking is bad for your health. The wrappers show hideous images of what might happen to you if you use tobacco. However, when it comes to investments, the ‘advisers’ selling dangerous investments are able to disguise the risks
Hidden charges that destroy your pension funds Read More »
The recent PSIG (Pension Scams Industry Group) Scams Survey Pilot 2018 has identified seven “key” findings in their survey. As scam watchers, we are well aware of these points and are, of course, glad they have been highlighted. PSIG’s key finding are set out below. So let us admit one key fact: ALL PENSION SCAMS START WITH A
Time for all pension providers to wake up and stop pension scams Read More »
Every year we are seeing an increase in the number of victims falling for pension and investment scams. Despite warnings in the public domain and a huge array of information about how to avoid falling victim to a scam, it seems the scammers are so skilled at their sales techniques, that even the cleverest of
Cold calling scammers target expats after the ban in UK – BBC4 You and Yours Read More »
Another victim of Berkeley Burke SIPPS investments into Store First storage pods has come forward. 55-year-old factory worker Robert McCarthy, of Ebbw Vale, said he has lost more than £30,000 through a Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP). He was duped into the transfer and investment by unregulated firm Jackson Francis which was liquidated in 2014. His investment
More negligence from trustees Berkeley Burke – Store First Read More »
Attention financial advisers in Spain/who provide financial advice to Spanish residents. 18th February 2019 DEATH OF THE LIFE BOND: The Spanish insurance and pensions regulator, the DGS, made a judgment against Costa Blanca-based Continental Wealth Management (CWM) on 10.1.2019. The order (translated and summarised below) confirmed that there are strict regulations in Spain for
Death of the Life Bond (Life of the Death Bond?) Read More »
The Spanish Insurance Regulator – the DGS (Dirección General de Seguros y Fondos de Pensiones) – has made a most welcome judgment. This outlaws the mis-selling of bogus life assurance policies as investment “platforms” – aka “life bonds”. Read the translated summary below. The iniquitous practice of scamming victims into these expensive, pointless bonds – so
No more bogus life assurance policies in Spain Read More »
Blacklist – “The Pension Scam (No 69)” By far the best US crime thriller series (IMHO) on Netflix has got to be Blacklist. Utterly mesmerising is the star Raymond Reddington (played by the superb James Spader). Reddington manages to be simultaneously as camp as a row of tents, and macho as the All Blacks. The
Blacklist – “The Pension Scam (No 69)” Read More »
