Former director and CEO banned and fined £56,400 by FCA

The regulator found that Hadjigeorgiou failed to properly manage the discretionary fund manager and protect its customers' interests.

During his time as CEO, SVS invested customers' money, including pension savings, in high risk products while receiving payments from the companies issuing them, according to the FCA.

The regulator also found that Hadjigeorgiou failed to challenge a decision that reduced the value of customers' bond investments by 10% when they chose to sell.

The reduction generated £359,800 for SVS at the expense of its customers, who were not clearly informed about it. The FCA said some customers consequently lost part of their pension savings.

The fine and ban were imposed after Hadjigeorgiou settled his case with the FCA and withdrew his referral to the Upper Tribunal.

Therese Chambers, joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, said: "Building up a pension for retirement is one of the most important investments you can make. Mr Hadjigeorgiou put people's savings at risk and his actions have left people worse off in retirement.

"Where senior leaders fail to put customer interests first, we will act."