Is your DFM investment portfolio a scam?

The FCA has warned that it has seen an increase in scams ran through discretionary fund managers – often a part of SIPP pensions.

• DFMs are portfolios of investment bonds
• The bonds are chosen and managed
• Portfolios are often rated by risk
• Many DFMs may involve scams

Did you move your pension to a SIPP to invest in a DFM portfolio?

The regulators at the FCA are concerned about the potential abuse of DFM portfolios, referring to them as ‘third generation scams’. Now may be a good time to check to seem if you were mis-sold your DFM portfolio.

Pension scams evolving

The scams are often an evolution of older-style pension scams, where people were often wrongly advised to transfer their pensions into a SIPP in order to invest in high-risk alternative schemes. Often, these schemes were unregulated by the FCA, based overseas, and not suitable for the client in question.

Now, some of these high-risk schemes are hidden inside DFM portfolios, often under different names, making it harder for people to spot a high-risk investment.

DFMs gone wrong

Recent years have seen some DFM companies collapse into liquidation and administration. Some of these firms were later revealed to have links to high-risk investments that had often become ‘illiquid’, meaning the money may be trapped in the investment to boom or bust!

Companies like Strand Capital, Greyfriars Asset Management and Beaufort Securities have all been related to high-risk products, and all are now in some form of insolvency. Beaufort itself was even involved in an FBI sting!

Is your pension caught up in a DFM?

Not all DFM investments are scams, but if you transferred your pension into one and don’t understand what you’ve invested in, then your retirement may be at risk.

Spencer Churchill Claims Advice are specialists in mis-sold pensions, whether that’s DFM-stuffed SIPPs, or final salary pension transfers.

We offer EVERYONE with the slightest concern about their pension a FREE initial assessment to check for signs of a mis-sold pension.

We’ll let you know if it looks like you can make a claim for a mis-sold pension, with no upfront costs.

Don’t forget, while it may not look like you’ve lost money, there are plenty of ways a negligent pension transfer could leave you out of pocket, and we’re specialists at spotting them.

Get in touch today!

Please note: you have an initial cooling off period of 14 days, if you cancel outside of this period you may be charged for the work carried out and if we have already submitted your claim, which results in an offer of compensation subsequently being made, we will charge our full fee as per our T&Cs – our fee is 20% + VAT – a total of 24%.