Not upheld: Pension transfer advice complaint against Jarvis Investment Management Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr G transferred his Jarvis SIPP to The Swift Trading Pension Scheme in October 2017 and subsequently lost money when the receiving scheme proved to have little value. He complained that the SIPP provider failed to conduct adequate due diligence on the receiving scheme. The ombudsman established that JIML was only the investment platform provider, not the pension scheme provider, which was GRSL. Since the Scorpion guidance and PSIG Code apply only to pension scheme providers and not platform providers, and JIML had no involvement in the transfer process, the ombudsman found JIML was not responsible for conducting due diligence and did not uphold the complaint. The ombudsman noted that GRSL is in administration and the FSCS is investigating claims against it.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman determined that JIML was not the pension provider but merely the investment platform provider for a white-labelled SIPP administered by GRSL. The Scorpion guidance and PSIG Code of Good Practice apply only to ceding pension scheme providers, not to investment platform providers. Since GRSL was the actual pension provider and JIML had no involvement in the transfer application process, JIML was not required to conduct due diligence on the receiving scheme. JIML's role as platform provider did not extend to responsibility for the transfer decision.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website