The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) has announced it is investigating Newport-based Prism Independent Financial Advisers Ltd.
According to the FSCS, the firm is reportedly associated with claims regarding pension transfer advice given to members of the British Steel Pension Scheme (BSPS).
The firm has not been regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) since 2020.
A spokesperson for the FSCS told International Adviser that the firm has been in liquidation for a period of time, this was originally a solvent liquidation (members voluntary liquidation) right at the end of 2020.
It recently converted, in 2023, to a creditors voluntary liquidation. As this is now an insolvency process, it satisfies the first condition for FSCS declaring a default – that the firm won’t be able to meet the costs of any claims itself.
The FSCS is now investigating the individual claims and if it can find a valid one, the default can be declared.
British Steel
The FSCS said: “In 2017, many British Steel workers were advised to transfer out of their defined benefit pension into a defined contribution pension, known as a personal pension plan or a self-invested personal pension (Sipp).
“By transferring to a private pension arrangement, they would have lost the benefits already built up in the British Steel Pension Scheme. It may not have been realistic to achieve the same level of benefits from their new plan. The advice they received may not have been the best advice for them.”
Since the start of 2023, the FSCS has announced it is investigating six BSPS-linked advice firms.
This includes Cheshire-based Arrow Financial Services UK Ltd, County Durham-based Green Gem Financial, Bridgend-based Wealthmasters Financial Management, DC Financial Ltd and Abbey Lane Financial Associates Ltd.
