The Financial Services Compensation Scheme has declared Sipp operator Rowanmoor Personal Pensions in default after receiving 1,464 claims against the firm. Of the 1,464 claims, one was been upheld which has triggered the default.
This one case that was upheld was a sample case that was investigated by the FOS during 2021, involving a Rowanmoor client, Mr T. He had been ‘advised’ to invest in an unregulated offshore property deal involving Cape Verde-based The Resort Group and lost his pension savings.
The FOS investigation revealed that an introducer firm, CIB Life and Pensions Ltd (were a financial advice firm who had a number of complaints made against them involving Rowanmoor SIPPs, TRG and Harlequin Property. Real SIPP were appointed Representatives of C.I.B Life and Pensions). They are no longer authorised by the FCA and the company dissolved in 2018, was passing a large number of clients on to Rowanmoor, making up over a quarter of Rowanmoor’s business between 2009 and 2013.
Neither CIB Life and Pensions Ltd or Rowanmoor admitted responsibility for giving Mr T financial advice (surprise, surprise), insisting that Mr T signed documentation to say he would seek his own independent advice elsewhere. The FOS disagreed with this stance, stating that Rowanmoor should have followed published guidelines from City watchdog, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), so they would be able to demonstrate due diligence and risk management (regarding how they accepted new business and recommended the investments they offered) but, above all else, they should have treated Mr T fairly. Which they did not!
As Mr T’s complaint was successful, the FOS ordered Rowanmoor to pay him compensation. The FOS also asked Rowanmoor to close the SIPP fund, so that other investors did not have to continue paying wrapper fees.
The troubled Self Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) provider, Rowanmoor, closed its doors to new business in August 2020, after which large numbers of claims against the firm were submitted to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) for consideration.
Now that the door was opened for other investors, many more claims were submitted to FOS. Rowanmoor collapsed under the weight of hundreds of complaints related to failed offshore investments and other worthless investments within its Sipps.
The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) stepped in on 31st August 2022, agreeing to take over the FOS claims and to investigate Rowanmoor’s demise.
The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) declared Rowanmoor in default on the 15th December 2023.