Not upheld: Investment mis-selling complaint against Artemis Fund Managers Limited
Financial Ombudsman decision DRN-5597838 of 2025-06-18T00:00:00+00:00. Investment mis-selling complaint against Artemis Fund Managers Limited. Outcome: Not upheld.
Decision detail
| Reference | DRN-5597838 |
|---|---|
| Decision date | 2025-06-18T00:00:00+00:00 |
| Firm | Artemis Fund Managers Limited |
| Product | Investment |
| Claim type | Investment mis-selling |
| Outcome | Not upheld |
| Remedy | Artemis offered £75 due to how they investigated the complaint. The ombudsman noted this was a complaint handling matter and not a regulated activity, so could not comment on it. Mr S was advised to contact Artemis directly if he wished to accept. |
Summary
Mr S complained that Artemis Fund Managers Limited could not locate a Personal Equity Plan he held with them, with his last statement dating from April 2006. When Mr S contacted Artemis in July 2024, they searched their records but found no information about the plan, citing their six-year record retention policy. The ombudsman found that Artemis had conducted appropriate searches and that multiple factors (the fund being changed in 2021, active holders being notified, and the client reference not matching the current system) indicated the plan had likely been surrendered or transferred. The complaint was not upheld.
The Ombudsman's reasoning
The ombudsman applied the balance of probabilities standard given the incomplete information spanning 19 years. The combination of Artemis's system searches finding no record, the fund being changed in 2021 with notification to active holders, and the client reference number not matching the current system all pointed to the plan having been surrendered or transferred. The ombudsman found Artemis had searched their systems appropriately and that businesses are only required to keep records for a certain number of years.
How this compares
| Group | Decisions | Uphold rate |
|---|---|---|
| Artemis Fund Managers Limited, all decisions | 4 | 0% |
| Investment mis-selling, all decisions | 14,206 | 37% |
| Investment, all decisions | 14,114 | 34% |
Source
Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website