Who would have thought that the series of blogs, ….. company name … qualified and registered? would have caused such a stir? On one side I have anonymous readers attacking my words, on another I have grateful victims of pension scams thanking me for outing these companies. From a third direction, I have IFAs telling me they are qualified but don’t bother to pay their membership fees.
For those readers who follow Pension Life blogs, I would like to say that comments in response to my postings – whether they be positive or negative – are almost always approved – there is nothing to hide, despite what some of the trolls may suggest. Interestingly, the trolls that continue to post their nonsense, hide behind anonymous names and titles – either because they are cowards or because they are involved in pension scams themselves. However, comments which are clearly malicious and time-wasting, are popped into the spam bin. The trolls clearly hate the fact that we are educating the masses on how to avoid falling victim to a pension scam.
The Globaleye Dubai – qualified and registered? blog has had a lot of comments:
‘You do realise that these databases only carry the names of subscription paying members. I have 3 CII qualifications but do not pay their ‘admin’ fee so do not appear on the search. Therefore, your comments are irrelevant!’ Jo Kerr
If my comments are irrelevant, why take the time to respond? What we are trying to highlight in this series of blogs is that offshore advisers are operating without the correct qualifications (or even with NONE AT ALL) to advise on pensions and investments. Without the correct qualifications, how can a client be sure that the adviser is working to their specific needs – as well as in an educated and trustworthy manner? If they do not belong to an association like the CII, what does govern them and ensure they are an honest and qualified adviser? The point of being qualified in a specific area is to enable the qualified person to provide a professional service to the client – (just as important as for doctors, lawyers, mechanics or plumbers).
If you are paying someone to do a job, you want them to be qualified to the highest standard. If they are not qualified appropriately, this is where ‘mistakes’ can happen. Whether it be by accident or on purpose (often because the defining factor is what earns the adviser the most commissions, rather than what is in the best interests of the client). Posing as a fully qualified IFA is simply wrong. Plus if you have the qualifications, then why not be proud of having them and pay the membership fee? Be transparent; let all clients and potential clients know that you have devoted yourself to studying for and achieving these qualifications.
Pension scams are no joke – they are not irrelevant to the victims whose lives have been left in tatters. Maybe “Jo Kerr” would like to field some of the calls I take – talk to victims who have lost their life savings by trusting unqualified, unregulated so-called advisers posing as fully qualified experts, placing hard-earned pension funds into toxic, high-risk investments, generally accompanied by high commissions. Maybe this callous joker could absorb some of the profound despair of the victims who are contemplating suicide. I guess you could simply say to them, ‘well I think it’s irrelevant’. But maybe you, like many other IFAs, just don’t care. It is irrelevant to you what happens to the funds of the victims, as long as the investments make you fat commissions.
Tell this victim of CWM’s ‘Blue chip notes’ pension scam – promoted by unregulated and unqualified IFAs that his loss is irrelevant:
The blogs we write at Pension Life are aimed at the public, the hard-working public who have saved much of their working life into a pension plan and want to put it somewhere safe. It is therefore their right to know which companies and advisers are fully qualified and regulated and which are not. The public need to be able to make educated and safe investment decisions. They need to know what questions to ask their IFA. They need to know what companies have been involved in past pension scams. They need to know as much as possible about how to invest their pension wisely.
With these blogs I hope to better educate the masses so that pension scammers and fraudsters can be stopped in their tracks – worldwide. The series of qualified and registered blogs has exposed many unqualified and unregistered advisers who work in the industry. I don’t quite get why so many of the comments are then so negative to this transparency – I wonder what those who make the negative comments have to hide? Are they the ones who are involved in the pension scams and realise that their misdemeanours are being publicised?
What I find most interesting, is that rather than question the companies as to the reason their IFAs lie about their qualifications, the readers placing the comments are more inclined to try to discredit me, my company and my staff.
Regular readers of my blogs may notice that sometimes my blogs quietly disappear with no public explanation. There is a reason for that too. The blogs often bring firms to the table and we get stuff done. Sometimes firms even preempt matters and make contact even before I get a chance to do a blog.
If I call a firm to discuss a problem and they enter into helpful and constructive dialogue over how to solve it, I don’t blog about it but keep the matter confidential. There are firms who quietly sort things out without making a fuss in a dignified and conscientious manner. In contrast, however, there are firms that just pull up the shutters – such as OMI and STM Fidecs. Hence why I keep blogging about them.
DeVere is indeed one of a number of firms I don’t currently blog about. So for the nice gentleman called Graham and another charming chap who calls himself “Innocent Bystander” who are accusing me of being partisan, don’t think just about what I do write, but about what I don’t write. There are good reasons for both.
I will continue to expose the actions, practices and vulgar conduct of firms who continue to ignore my questions; And I will tag all those who are stupid and irresponsible enough to keep on working for these firms and helping to fill these firms already bulging pockets. In contrast, however, Holborn Assets and Guardian Wealth Management have engaged in relation to complaints, and so I have removed all blogs which mention the firm.”
I would like to thank CII Member for their comment in response to Jo Kerr:
‘As a member of the CII, I am appalled by all of this.
‘It is a membership fee, not an “admin” fee, for a professional body. Qualified members, by being paid members, sign up to a code of conduct. Some are claiming to be members and some are using CII designations after their names without being members. This is expressly not allowed by the CII. I cannot comment about the CISI, though I am sure they will have similar rules.
The CII need to take firm action here to maintain the integrity of the Institute for those that are genuine, qualified members.
As I have pointed out, any self-respecting adviser with qualifications is happy to pay their membership fee, and is horrified that others who hold the same qualifications do not bother to do so. This, therefore, enables anyone to state “I do hold the qualification – I just don’t pay the membership fee”. If you have the qualification and are working as an adviser, why not pay the membership fee? Qualified advisers refusing to pay leaves the door wide open for the fraudsters posing as qualified advisers to get away with committing fraud TIME AND TIME AGAIN. This blatant lack of regard for the system – QUALIFICATIONS NEEDED AND REGULATIONS – that has been built up over many years, enables the bad and the ugly to roam free – with new pension scams being hatched daily.
Also to add, as CII Member does, you need a level 4 if not 6 with the CII to be fully qualified to give UK pension advice. A level 3 does not qualify you to advise on pensions – as our previous blog outlines.
I am a fully qualified and approved driving instructor. This means I am on the DVSA Register of approved driving instructors (ADI) – similar to the FCA register for IFA’s, and I have to pay for being on that register. There were 3 tests I had to pass to get on the register and I undergo regular standards checks to stay on that register. It is illegal for anyone to give driving instruction and charge for it unless they are on that register and the DVSA does hunt out and prosecute illegal instruction. This is to ensure that the public are only taught by persons who have demonstrated at least a minimum standard and continue to maintain at least that minimum standard – instructors are graded and some demonstrate higher than the minimum – and there is a badge I am legally required to display when giving lessons.
If a person passes the Advanced Driving Test and pays their membership fee to the Institute of Advanced Motorists they still CANNOT legally give driving instruction for recompense (money or gifts of any kind) unless they pass the DVSA driving instruction tests and are put on the register of approved instructors. Passing one driving test does not prove you can “teach it” to others or meet the other core competencies – the DVSA instructor tests are more than just a driving test and btw 7 out of 10 fail them!
This sounds very similar to what these scammers are doing. They are passing some exams at a basic level and then claiming this makes them qualified to advise on anything.
It doesn’t seem like rocket science for the same to apply to IFA’s as it does to ADI’s. It is of little use to the average person whether a person has level 3,4, 5, 6 or whatever unless the client knows what it means – which we don’t! We rely on regulatory agencies like the FCA to know what it means and grant permission for the IFA to give advice on certain things. That the FCA register makes it difficult for ordinary people to discover what an IFA is permitted to do is a different issue right now. The point is, it should be legislated and a criminal offence to give advice, for remuneration of any kind, outside your quals AND if not on the FCA register, as it is for driving instructors.
If this were the case I would simply be able to report the low-life, despicable turd – https://pension-life.com/david-vilkas-vile-us-attorney/ – that advised my pension be transferred to the “introducer’s unregulated fund” – https://pension-life.com/blackmore-global-fund-asset-liability-black-hole/ – regardless of my best interest but purely because that was his business plan – https://pension-life.com/not-so-square-mile-and-far-from-lilly-white/ – and then they wouldn’t be so blasé about it – https://pension-life.com/action-fraud-nobody-no-authority-john-ferguson-square-mile-financial-services/ – if they served time for it and got a criminal record they could put on their LinkedIn profile – haha!!
Likewise all the other evil con artists purporting to be experts at anything other than conning people – which they are very good at! I really dislike these thoroughly unpleasant individuals – can you tell?
Angie, you are being too soft and kind in your wording in this article.
If one doesn’t pay the membership fee, one don’t have the qualification…..period.
Quite a few years ago I worked alongside a particularly lazy, negative individual who was disciplined and dismissed for claiming to have professional qualifications he did not have. The qualifications were not even required for his role but the employer’s decision to dismiss him was obviously completely right.
There can be no quicker way of bringing a business into disrepute than to allow employees to go around brandishing qualifications they do not have. Words absolutely fail me……
Interestingly, the firms we are reviewing don’t come forward to assure us that their staff are indeed qualified and will be renewing their memberships. But you are right that we are trying to be soft and kind – for now 🙂
It is possible you’re being soft but I cannot stress this enough, and I do keep stressing it, from BITTER experience – Regulation is the KEY.
It is IRRELEVANT how qualified a person is if they ARE NOT regulated to give the advice they are giving. I learned this from bitter experience! The regulation comes with a PROTECTION for the investor in the form of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, which whilst limited to £50k is better than ZERO! This is because a person that is regulated PAYS INTO that compensation scheme as part of the regulation.
An UNREGULATED adviser – however qualified – BARS you from accessing the FSCS AND Ombudsman services!!
If a person has the appropriate qualification(s) their regulatory status will show what the permitted services they can provide and IF they fail in that advice YOU, the client, gets access to FSCS and Ombudsman services. This is crucial, regardless of the qualifications or “institutes they belong to”!!!
The adviser can be the most qualified and expert person in the world but if he has turned “rogue” – because there is a lot of money in being a scammer – and uses his qualification to scam you by not paying for the appropriate regulatory status then YOU still LOSE OUT!
DON’T get hung up on QUALIFICATIONS – regulatory status gives you the much desired added PROTECTION!!!
I agree with Stephen – but there is a big BUT. There are still firms with advisers which are qualified to a high standard, and have full regulation, and which are still crooks who defraud their clients. So although qualifications and regulations are very important, things can still go wrong. Depressing, I know, but true – sadly.
Here here Angela you are absolutely correct The best Crooks are often the best educated. Within the industry you have many professional advisors with a wealth of experience and qualifications who in turn use their credentials as a passport of trustworthiness when in fact the qualifications as legit as they may be are used as a selling tool to coax people into toxic investments with sky high commissions. Read Henry Tappers blog on Clive Skane Davis for example a scaremonger who loves to flaunt his credentials so much so he’s written his own blog on the importance of qualifications. The irony is beyond belief considering he’s a bonafide crook who’s still working away facing serious charges in Geneva. Sad as it is Angela Credentials registered or not means less and less in a industry which seems to be infested with greed.How you do what you do is beyond me but keep up the good work
Ivo may I be ask you in relation to what charges Clive is facing in Geneva?
As the REAL Ivo Sharpe I am appauled to see that someone has used my name to post commenst on this web-site – I would like ANGELA and the team to explain where and how this has happened, I to wish to meet at our lawyers offices!
I think you already know what charges Xavier from Lake Finance so please don’t be playing dumb! You know already Clive is facing charges of receiving monies by deception, Fraud, Data theft and another even more serious charge. I don’t appreciate your colleague and what he’s done to Stephen Kent is horrendous!
Dear Ivo,
My name is Clive Skane-Davis, and I am appalled at the content of your email, which is factually incorrect in every aspect. In fact, it it defamatory.
Let me make it clear that I am not facing ANY charges for ANYTHING in Switzerland or anywhere else.
The advice and service I offer clients has always been exemplary and where others, like Mr Tapper, hold different opinions on the validity of transfer of pensions that is their opinion.
However, the information you have put on this website would seem to come from malicious rumour. To get to the bottom of this and establish where you received this false and defamtory information from, I would like to meet with you at my lawyers offices in Geneva as soon as possible.
Please contact me to arrange this.
Sorry but you clearly have the wrong Xavier but I did look up the Xavier you are referring to and alas it’s not me as I’m a paler complextion all together. I merely asked a question out of interest and did not mean to offend your sensibilities. I hope this Clive person gets his comeuppance!
What is it with the qualified and registered blogs that have you all losing your s***t ! I have colleagues coming up to me asking first thing in the morning have you seen the Pension life blog today like giddy schoolchildren. You lot are highlighting the worst of the industry and the few bad apples has certainly not spoilt the bunch.The only winner out of this is the owner of the blog guys not the industry so get a grip.
You have hit the nail on the head with the comment about industry. Should your industry not be a profession?
If you want to maintain the integrity of your industry/profession can you weed out your own bad apples rather than leaving it to the victims, regulators and action groups? Don’t employ them, don’t sell unregulated products, don’t work with pension and investment companies with a poor track record.
I think Charles is worried Cleanup. Heres some weeding, Clive Skane Davis the advisor facing charges (see above) gets fired from his last role as does Xavier D, and they both wind up working together again inLake Finance Int I think the clear message here is avoid Lake Finance Int if you don’t want to get fleeced! How do you like them apples Charles?
Hi Jacob,
My name is Clive Skane-Davis. Firstly, let me make the same point to you that I have others. I am NOT facing any charges and have done NOTHING to warrant any charges of any kind. I was NOT fired from my last post but resigned when the company reneged on salary and I found out had considerable debts.
My actions have started a host of malicious acts by people who do not put real names online because they know their comments are false and defamatory.
I recommend you do not fall foul of legal action, if indeed your name is Jacob, as these online comments are defamation.
Regards
Clive