FCA fines two advisers over £1m following Tribunal backing

The Upper Tribunal has upheld the FCA's decision to ban Toni Fox and David Brian Price from working in financial services and revoke their senior management approvals. The Tribunal also agreed that they should pay substantial financial penalties.

Between April 2015 and October 2017, the directors of CFP Management, Fox and Price, advised on 1,470 pension transfers worth over £392 million. They designed, oversaw and personally operated a flawed advice model designed to lead to a pension transfer. 

Despite decades of experience, the investigation found that they failed to properly consider clients’ financial situations and risks, leading to unsuitable transfers that breached FCA rules, including for members of the British Steel Pension Scheme.

The FCA originally decided to fine Fox £681,536 and Price £632,594. Following the Tribunal’s guidance in March 2025 on how to calculate tax and interest on the money to be returned, Fox and Price provided further details, and the FCA recalculated the fines. The Tribunal has now endorsed the FCA’s calculations and fines of £567,584 for Fox and £465,415 for Price have been imposed.

The Tribunal also agreed with the FCA that the advisory process the pair designed and operated posed "a real risk to customers" and that both individuals had committed a "very serious breach of the FCA’s rules". Further, that Fox and Price lack the integrity necessary to work in the financial services industry.

Therese Chambers, FCA executive director of enforcement and market oversight, said: "The Tribunal’s ruling confirms that both individuals are unfit for roles in regulated firms. Their reckless actions fell far below the expected standards in financial services."