Not upheld: Investment mis-selling complaint against Wealthify Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr G transferred three pension plans into Wealthify's Adventurous Plan in September 2021 and subsequently complained about poor performance and lack of clarity on figures, particularly questioning why 10% of his plan was held in cash and why his portfolio had declined approximately 11% overall despite positive market performance. Wealthify provided risk warnings in its factsheet stating potential losses could reach 16.4% annually and explained that the portfolio was diversified across multiple asset types and geographies, not a tracker fund. The ombudsman found no evidence of mismanagement and noted that Mr G was aware or ought reasonably to have been aware that diversified portfolios do not necessarily track stock market indices. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that Mr G was not invested in a tracker fund but rather in a diversified portfolio of equities, bonds, and cash across different geographies. The ombudsman reasoned that there is no direct correlation between stock market indices and diversified portfolios, and that Mr G was aware or ought reasonably to have been aware of this through the literature provided. The ombudsman also found that Wealthify's rebalancing to increase cash holdings during market volatility was appropriate and communicated to Mr G, and that there was no evidence Wealthify failed to invest according to the fund fact sheet.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website