The directors of FCA-regulated Forthplus Pensions Limited (Forthplus), appointed Andrew Poxon, Alex Cadwallader and Barry Stewart of Leonard Curtis Business Solutions Group as joint administrators on 19 October 2021.
In a statement issued today (20 October), the Financial Conduct Authority said Forthplus "was unable to meet its regulatory capital adequacy requirements and the Board recognised it was no longer able to operate".
This was compounded by a large number of complaints at the Financial Ombudsman Service related to their due diligence before taking on pension savers.
The FCA further said it published Final Guidance to SIPP Operators in 2013 on the due diligence it expected them to conduct.
"The ombudsman service has issued several representative provisional assessments which found that Forthplus had not undertaken adequate due diligence and therefore had not treated its customers fairly and reasonably.
As Forthplus did not agree with those provisional assessments, the ombudsman service was preparing to issue final decisions. Had the complaints been upheld and final decisions issued, further claims against Forthplus were expected", the FCA said.
Following advice from Leonard Curtis the directors made the decision to place the firm into administration.
