Adviser fined £106,000 for poor pension transfer advice

The FCA has banned Mark Abley of County Capital Wealth Management from providing any advice on pension transfers.

Abley will also pay £106,100 to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) rather than the FCA, to contribute towards the redress owed to County Capital’s customers. If he fails to pay, the FCA will enforce this amount as a fine.

The FCA's investigation found that between 2015 and 2018, County Capital Wealth Management, which is now in liquidation, advised 575 people to transfer out of their defined benefit pension schemes – including almost 150 members of the British Steel Pension Scheme.

Abley was responsible for this advice, over half of which (56%) failed to meet the required standards and showed a lack of competence. He received a financial benefit of at least £60,000 for providing the advice.

The FCA says Abley did not obtain the information needed to make a suitable recommendation or properly assess whether the customer could understand and bear the financial risks of transferring their guaranteed pension. He also failed to provide evidence to show that the transfers were in his customers’ best interest and there were errors in the calculations used to compare customers’ existing pension schemes with the schemes it was proposed they transfer into.

As of 14th March 2023, the FSCS has upheld 53 pension transfer claims against County Capital and paid out over £2.1m in compensation to the firm's customers.

Therese Chambers, joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, said: "Mr Abley’s incompetence meant that he failed to give customers the advice they needed to make a significant decision about their retirement. This included hundreds of people who were dealing with the uncertainty around the British Steel Pension Scheme. He earned fees while putting their retirement money at risk. It is only right that he contributes to the costs of compensating these customers."