The troubled SIPP provider has been sold to Hartley Pensions after a turbulent couple of years.
Administrators were appointed this week to conclude the sale of Guinness Mahon to Hartley Pensions – a sale which includes nearly 4,000 self-invested personal pensions (SIPPs).
An FCA holding page states –
On 17 February 2020, and following complaints in relation to historic high-risk non-standard investments, the directors of Guinness Mahon Trust Corporation Limited (GMTC), a firm authorised and regulated by the FCA, appointed Adam Stephens and Nick Myers of Smith & Williamson LLP as Joint Administrators (administrators).
The administrators have immediately sold the SIPP business to Hartley Pensions Limited (Hartley), another firm authorised and regulated by the FCA.
As part of the sale all Guinness Mahon staff will transfer across to Hartley Pensions. Smith & Williamson said it does not anticipate any disruption to the services previously provided by the SIPP firm.
Who were Guinness Mahon?
Guiness Mahon was a SIPP provider who first made the headlines in 2018 after the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) ruled in favour of five of their clients – who in total lost almost £100,000 – after investing their pensions in unregulated assets.
In these five cases, a FOS adjudicator sided with claimants who invested in the unregulated Ethical Forestry, a scheme offering returns of up to 15 percent from tree plantations in Costa Rica.
At the time, the FOS said the SIPP provider Guinness Mahon had failed in its due diligence of the introducer involved in the sale and should have refused to take the business.
The problems did not stop there for Guinness Mahon, however. Last year the firm was ordered to pay compensation to two clients following more unregulated SIPP transfer advice – this time from unregulated introducer Avacade Limited.
They too were involved in high-risk unregulated schemes such as Ethical Forestry and Global Plantations. Fairweather Claims Ltd Director Scott Birchall was handling the two cases.
Can I still make a complaint against Guinness Mahon?
Yes, complaints can be made via the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) is a statutory deposit insurance and investor compensation scheme. It can compensate clients if a financial firm is unable to. It has often been described as a “lifeboat” fund.
ClaimExperts work alongside the FSCS to get clients the compensation they deserve. The FSCS have protected more than 4.5m people and paid out £26bn in compensation.
How can ClaimExperts help?
At ClaimExperts, our team of experts have extensive experience in dealing with a whole manner of claims that arise from negligent and/or unsuitable financial advice, including the transfer of pensions.
We are currently acting for over 30 clients who are looking to bring claims directly against Guinness Mahon for failing to adhere to their responsibilities and obligations to our clients. If you have invested via a SIPP with Guinness Mahon please contact us today for a free no obligation chat and we can see if we can help.
Should you have a claim, we can deal with your case and look to recover compensation for not just your loss of investment but also any adverse tax liabilities that you may now be facing as well.