Mr Burdett and Mr Goodchild previously held senior roles at Synergy Wealth Limited (Synergy) and Westbury Private Clients LLP (Westbury), respectively.
The FCA banned the pair from working in regulated financial services for recklessly exposing pension holders to unsuitable investments.
The Tribunal also found that it was appropriate for the FCA to impose penalties of £265,071 on Mr Burdett and £47,600 on Mr Goodchild.
Because of Mr Burdett, 232 personal pension funds worth over £10 million were switched into high-risk investment portfolios that were obviously unsuitable. The portfolios were created and managed by Mr Goodchild at Westbury, with around 38% of overall holdings linked to a single offshore property developer.
Despite his knowledge that the portfolios were high-risk, Mr Burdett allowed Synergy’s customers to receive reports indicating that their money would be placed in low or medium risk portfolios. Mr Goodchild included the misleading terms ‘cautious’ and ‘balanced‘ in the names of 2 of the 3 high-risk portfolios.
In addition, Mr Burdett acted as a director of Synergy despite knowing he did not have the required FCA approval to perform that function. He also failed to co-operate with the FCA’s investigation.
The FCA intervened in 2016 to protect consumers, stopping the pensions business of Synergy and Westbury. Both firms subsequently went into liquidation and were dissolved.
To date, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) has paid out over £1.4m to victims.
Therese Chambers, joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, said:
‘People trusted Mr Burdett and Mr Goodchild with their hard-earned savings and were badly let down. The pair worked together to switch customers’ pensions into obviously unsuitable, high-risk investments.
‘They made significant personal profits from their actions. We will not tolerate such conduct and are pleased that the Tribunal agrees.’
The Tribunal noted that ‘Mr Burdett’s actions have shown little regard for the interests of Synergy’s clients, pension holders whose pensions were transferred to the Westbury SIPP and were invested in ways which Mr Burdett knew were obviously high risk and hopelessly inappropriate’.
In addition, the Tribunal found that
‘As an experienced and qualified investment manager, Mr Goodchild must have known of the risk of putting together for pension holders of varying risk appetites portfolios with any significant levels of concentration of investment into an obviously high risk project… He completely ignored this risk, without regard to the interests of the pension holders’.
The Tribunal was not satisfied that Mr Goodchild’s
‘cursory due diligence … was even remotely sufficient to constitute reasonable steps to ensure suitability.’
This follows an announcement on 19th January
The FCA’s decision to ban Darren Antony Reynolds from working in financial services and fine him £2,037,892 has been upheld by the Upper Tribunal.
The FCA’s decision to ban Darren Antony Reynolds from working in financial services and fine him £2,037,892 has been upheld by the Upper Tribunal.
Mr Reynolds was dishonest when he gave pension transfer advice and investment recommendations to his customers, causing them significant harm.
Mr Reynolds showed a clear disregard for his customers’ interests. He encouraged British Steel Pension Scheme members to transfer out of their defined benefit pension scheme, despite knowing that the advice was wholly unsuitable. He also advised his customers to invest in high-risk and unsuitable products while at the same time hiding high exit fees and falsifying documents.
Mr Reynolds’ misconduct exposed hundreds of people to serious financial loss. Over £17.6m has been paid in compensation to more than 470 affected customers, many of whom suffered losses in excess of statutory compensation limits.
In addition, Mr Reynolds let 2 unapproved people give pension advice, putting customers at risk. When confronted with his misconduct he lied to regulators, allowed important evidence to be destroyed, and moved his family home into a trust to avoid paying his debts.
Therese Chambers, joint executive director of Enforcement and Market Oversight at the FCA, said:
‘Mr Reynolds’ misconduct was the worst we saw out of all the British Steel Pension Scheme cases, and he caused untold damage to his clients. He acted in a way that was corrupt and dishonest, putting his own profits before people’s pensions and acting without integrity as he tried to cover his tracks.
‘He has spent many years trying to evade responsibility for his actions. The Tribunal’s full endorsement of our findings now brings those efforts to avoid accountability to an end. We will pursue recovery of the penalty to the fullest possible extent and will not hesitate to bankrupt him if necessary. We will ensure that he does not retain a single penny of his corrupt profits.’
The Tribunal noted that ‘Mr Reynolds is clearly guilty of dreadful misconduct over a protracted period, which had very serious adverse impacts on a large number of retail customers. He is, as the Authority alleged, a corrupt and dishonest man lacking integrity.’
Was anyone held accountable for LDI?
No single individual was formally held personally accountable or faced legal penalties for the September/October 2022 UK LDI crisis, as it was largely treated as a systemic market failure rather than individual negligence.
Increased accountability fell on the sector through regulatory intervention, with the Bank of England and TPR reportedly forcing stricter rules on leverage and liquidity.