The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has banned Denis Lee Morgan of Pembrokeshire Mortgage Centre (PMC) Limited (in liquidation) from advising any customers on pension transfers and opt outs, and from holding any senior management function in a regulated firm.

According to the FCA, Morgan demonstrated a lack of competence in his oversight of PMC’s pension transfer advice process between 8 June 2015 and 7 December 2017.

The FCA found that this had a particular impact on customers between August and November 2017, when PMC advised an average of 65 people customers a month, largely members of the British Steel Pension Scheme (BSPS).

The watchdog previously fined PMC over £2m for its unsuitable advice to transfer out of the BSPS and other defined benefit (DB) pension schemes, estimating that Morgan gave unsuitable advice in 60 per cent of cases, even higher than BSPS as a whole.

During the period in question, the firm advised 420 consumers, nearly two-thirds (64 per cent) of whom were BSPS members, on whether to transfer out of their DB scheme.

Overall, 96 per cent were advised to transfer, with PMC earning over £2m in transfer and ongoing advice fees.

The FCA also confirmed that Morgan was either the primary adviser or the pension transfer specialist on all these files, meaning that he was ultimately responsible for the quality of advice.

In particular, the FCA found that Morgan had, in most cases, failed to consider the customers’ financial situation, retirement needs, their attitude to risk or that transferring would be in their best interests.

This resulted in some savers in a vulnerable position not receiving the quality of advice they needed to make an informed decision.

Commenting on the decision, FCA joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight, Therese Chambers, said: “People depended on Mr Morgan to provide them with suitable advice on one of the most important decisions of their life.

"His incompetence put their retirement funds at unnecessary risk, while earning over £2m in fees for his firm, which he didn’t deserve.

“Where advisers fail to take reasonable steps to ensure the advice they provide is suitable for customers, we will take action to prevent them harming other customers.”

Share Story: