Financial advisors told not to advise steelworkers

The UK Financial Conduct Authority has ordered West Midlands-based Active Wealth to cease giving any further advice to British Steel workers at the company’s Port Talbot and Scunthorpe works.

Following news that Tata Steel was going to offload the British Steel pension scheme into the Pension Protection Fund, financial advisers swarmed in to offer workers the option of transferring to ‘the lifeboat fund’ – and losing benefits in the process – or going into the new Tata Steel scheme with ‘potentially higher payouts’ or taking on a private pension.

Problems arose when it transpired that the ‘rogue’ advisors hadn’t mentioned high charges or had put the pension holders into risky and unsuitable investments.

Source: Financial Times