Tenet to pay redress over Arch cru pension transfer

Tenet must compensate a client after advising a him to transfer his pension into high-risk Arch cru funds that were later suspended.

Tenet advised the client in 2006 to transfer his pension from Standard Life to Transact. The investments in the Transact pension were the Arch cru portfolio fund, which was deemed low to medium risk, and the Arch cru specialist portfolio fund, which was high-risk.

Tenet explained the funds' risk profiles to the client and said that, together, both funds had an overall medium risk level, which matched the customer's approach to investment risk.

However, the Financial Ombudsman Service says Tenet should have concluded that both funds were high risk.

Ombudsman Caroline Stirling says in the final decision notice: “They were specialised, non-mainstream investments, and assets included a substantial proportion of unlisted debt and private equity. This ought to have been an overriding consideration. Even though the risk associated with the specialist fund was mentioned, I don't think this was enough to give [the customer] an overall view of the risks associated with investing in the funds.”

She adds: “Tenetconnect described the combination of investments in the two funds as being medium risk and Mr R invested on the basis that it was. Rather than being a medium risk investment I'm satisfied it was high risk. I'm not persuaded the advice to invest in the Arch Cru funds was suitable. I'm satisfied Tenetconnect should compensate Mr R for the loss on the whole of his investment.”

The FOS has asked Tenet to compare the performance of the customer's investment against a benchmark it calculated and to pay him the difference between the fair value and the actual value of the investment.

It also has to pay the customer £250 for trouble and upset caused to him.

In May, the FOS ordered Tenet to compensate a group of clients which Tenet claimed had invested in an unregulated scheme on an execution-only basis.

The post Tenet to pay redress over Arch cru pension transfer appeared first on Money Marketing.