STM FIDECS QROPS and Trafalgar Multi Asset Fund Disaster (Suspended)

Written by

Angie

in

gibraltar

Trafalgar Multi Asset Fund – DISASTER.

“Gibraltar is a highly regulated and transparent jurisdiction, coupled with the benefits of a Gibraltar-based regulatory regime.”  Well, we will see won’t we!!

STM is now writing to their distressed members who are invested in the suspended £20 million Trafalgar Multi-Asset fund.  STM are stating:

“All members who invested into the Trafalgar Multi Asset Fund were introduced by Global Partners Limited, Nationwide Benefit Consultants Limited, and/or The Pension Reporter.  NBCL provided advice based on their appointed representative status granted by the Portuguese regulated firm – Joseph Oliver LDA.  In April 2016 Joseph Oliver LDA revoked the permissions granted to NBCL.  This resulted in the directors and employees of NBCL, no longer having permission to give financial advice.”

But – come on guys – there is no evidence that Global Partners or NBC or The Pension Reporter were ever regulated for pension or investment advice.  Only insurance advice.  So the fact that Joseph Oliver LDA dumped them is irrelevant.  So why did STM accept any of these people at all?

All of these people were undoubtedly low-risk, low-net-worth, unsophisticated investors – but they were all put into a high-risk, illiquid Unregulated Collective Investment Scheme (which is illegal to be promoted to UK retail clients). So, where was STM’s due diligence?

And what did STM know about the Trafalgar Multi Asset Fund?  They obviously knew the investment manager was also the adviser (a clear conflict of interest).  STM claims to be “a leading provider of international pensions with over 40 years’ experience providing bespoke planning for high-net-worth individuals in managing personal pension schemes.”  So why accept members who are neither international nor high net worth?

STM goes on to claim they are “at the forefront of developing best practice in the administration and delivery of a QROPS. Our business model and processes are built around our clients to ensure we deliver only the highest standards of client care.”  So STM has accepted hundreds of members who are UK resident and low risk into a QROPS 100% invested in one single UCIS and whose adviser is also the investment manager of the fund?  I would hardly call this the “highest standards of client care” but rather the lowest standards of negligence.

So what are you ridiculously hopeless lot going to do about it?  Call yourself pension trustees?  I wouldn’t trust you with my used tea bags!

 

Comments

20 responses to “STM FIDECS QROPS and Trafalgar Multi Asset Fund Disaster (Suspended)”

  1. Anthony Morris

    Disgusting

    Reply
  2. G COLSETT

    I currently have half my Army pension suspended with Trafalgar Multi Asset Fund, due to Global Partners now Tourbillion giving me false information with regards to the fact that I have no intentions of living outside the UK as I told them before making the investment, now Im stuck with a QROPS run by Soivereign based in Gibraltar with no recourse..due to being fed false information from the start

    Reply
    1. Pension Life

      I am sorry to hear you are a victim of the Trafalgar Multi Asset Fund scam. Can you please tell me who was the adviser?

      Reply
  3. Duncan

    I have lost everything to these ‘scum’ I was blatantly misled that this fund was medium risk. STM FEDICS were pivotal to my decision as I thought they were a reputable company. They didnt care just like the people who misled me. My future hopes are destroyed, as my health is worsening I am unable to create sufficient pension to get back to an even keel. As things stand it will probably be better if I dont reach retirement age. My future is filled with absolute dread

    Reply
  4. Neville fletcher

    I have also lost my life savings through bad advice given me my xxxx xxxx of global partners I was hoping to retire in may but can no longer afford too, my wife is suffering I’ll health and will now have to carry on working full time for the near future. Hope the xxxx gets what’s coming to him and he has to suffer like so many of his victims.

    Reply
  5. Paul

    I was also duped into this with a frozen pension.40k may seem little to some, but it’s a lot to me .did any of you get steelriver phoning about investment?

    Reply
  6. Allan Doherty

    Unfortunately I fell for this scam as well, through Steel Rivers (Mike Ward).. 50k investment down the tubes… I’m just a normal working guy like everyone else, looking forward to a nice retirement… But thanks to Steel Rivers and STM, I’ll be working for a wee while yet…

    Reply
    1. Martin Parsons

      Me the same and the same name as well £66000 never give up on getting it back have you done anything about it

      Reply
  7. Duncan Gauden-Wells

    There may be an avenue for recourse for investors via infringements of the DPA. You still have time as the time to bring them to court begins from discovery, not from the date of investment. The ceding firms could be at fault, Ask Angie Brooks for my email address or find me on facebook

    Reply
  8. Peter

    Lost 57000 pension to them just fill me with shi t every time i phone does anyone have any news

    Reply
    1. Angie

      Are you one of the members of the Pension Life case against STM? We are issuing criminal charges against them. They issued an update a few days ago to report that the scammers who operated the Trafalgar Multi Asset Fund fraud have now had their properties repossessed and that this money will be used to repay the members. I’d be very happy to see if you can be included if you want to try to recover your funds from STM.

      Reply
      1. Colin McAlorum

        I invested in this
        My name is colin McAlorum
        Tel 07895254242
        Email colinmcalorum@outlook.com
        My address is
        113 boggarthill Drive
        Seacroft leeds
        Ls141le

        Reply
    2. Angie

      STM has just sent out an update to victims (members) advising that some of the scammers behind the Trafalgar Multi Asset Fund investment scam have had their properties repossessed and that this money will be used to make up for some of the pension investment losses. We don’t yet know how much this has been in terms of actual money recovered, but certainly one of the scammers had a beautiful large country house set in many acres of land which must have been worth several million pounds – although far from the real value of the money destroyed across all victims (close to £25 million in total). This scammer has been under investigation by the Serious Fraud Office for some years and has had his office raided and his computers confiscated – but as far as I am aware, he is still operating his pension scams freely and advertising them openly. All those involved are, obviously, hoping that all the scammers will spend the rest of their lives behind bars.

      Reply
      1. Stephen

        I know it sounds “dramatic” to keep saying these people are under investigation by the SFO but I seriously doubt the SFO is actually doing anything of substance and what they are doing is probably insignificant. The SFO announcement TMAF were under investigation was in May 2017 ( https://www.sfo.gov.uk/cases/capita-oak-pension-henley-retirement-benefit-and-trafalgar-multi-asset-fund/ ). TMAF was lumped in with investigations into Capita Oak and Henley scams – sort of a job lot. According to the SFO’s latest update – 18th March 2022 – “Investigations are still ongoing…” It’s all blah blah blah (as a famous climate change activist would say).
        However, the fact some of those involved in TMAF have had ther properties repossessed is interesting. Surely, this could only have been ordered by a court? Therefore, surely they must have been found “guilty” of something? What exactly was the charge? What court? When? What jurisdiction? Some references would be nice so we could follow it up.
        That aside however, is there still a chance that STM could be forced to make up the difference and victim’s may still recover their losses?

        Reply
        1. Angie

          We can only go on what the SFO claims to be doing. The wheels of justice don’t seem to work in the real world like they do on the telly (most crimes get solved in under 45 minutes and the bad guys are hauled off in handcuffs pdq). There just isn’t a sense of urgency and none of the crime agencies seem to understand that the criminals just move on from one scam to the next, barely pausing for breath. I think that liquidator of the TMAF fund must have taken some action to take possession of the scammers’ assets – there wouldn’t have to be any notion of “guilt” – just responsibility (as in, being a director or fund manager). I don’t know if this was as a result of a court order – probably/possibly/presumably. They’re not saying much – and I agree, it would be nice to know and to be able to follow it up. Bearing in mind the Malta Arbiter has ruled that the trustees were responsible for 70% of the losses, I think there must be a chance that there is a compelling argument that STM Gibraltar should be at least responsible for the same amount of compensation. However, there is no arbiter or ombudsman in Gibraltar and the GFSC website kind of shrugs off any complaints against regulated entities: “Once your complaint has been made to the firm, if your are not satisfied with the response provided, or believe that you have a case for financial compensation, you may wish to consult a legal adviser on the merits of pursuing a claim through the Gibraltar courts.” The GFSC already claimed to have investigated STM Fidecs and raised a number of “concerns” and referred these to an auditor to investigate and supervise. But nothing happened and nothing changed. Interesting, though, that Deborah Schembri – MD of STM Malta and chairman of MASA – resigned abruptly and without explanation (shortly after the Malta civil court dismissed the appeals against the Arbiter’s determinations). Schembri has gone awfully quiet on social media for the past five months – so not sure if she’s busy setting up a charity for victims of pension scams?

          Reply
  9. Jo

    I also have invested money in the trafalgar fund and I have contacted stm fidecs many a time. I am gonna chase up the Sfo as completed forms for them to be done to explain what the scammers did and how much was involved. Its ridiculous if the scammers had a mansion it should definitely get paid to the members for all this losses!!!

    Reply
  10. Sylvia Lawson

    Does anyone know when the trafalgar multi asset fund court case finishes as I also lost money with them.STM fidecs told me one day that I had 90%of my money the next day Ihad none.

    Reply
    1. Angie

      James Hadley was found guilty of “unlawful conspiracy to injure Trafalgar and that the board of the fund was deceived into believing that Hadley was an honest investment manager making genuine investments in Trafalgar’s commercial interests whilst in reality, each of the major investments made were unlawful, uncommercial transactions which no honest investment manager would ever have contemplated. They were either fictitious, or the product of undisclosed, self-dealing into companies owned or controlled by Hadley or his co-conspirators. The investments were designed as the vehicle for extracting and misappropriating pension funds for the unlawful benefit of the defendants.”

      The case against STM Fidecs is now much stronger and we will be issuing very soon and will keep you updated.

      Reply
  11. Sylvia Lawson

    STM fidecs has not been in touch with me about Trafalgar multi asset fund.Why not as they have my details.

    Reply
  12. Sylvia Lawson

    Why has STM Fidecs not contacted me about trafalgar multi asset fund.I will need to get in touch with them with my new e mail.

    Reply

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