Not upheld: service failure - failure to notify of AGMs, failure to provide corporate authority letter, unclear transaction reporting complaint against Evelyn Partners Investment Management Services Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mrs R, as lead Trustee of the R Will Trust, complained that Evelyn Partners failed to notify her of upcoming AGMs, did not provide a requested letter of corporate authority for AGM attendance, and displayed concerning nil value transactions on the GIA statement. EP explained it provided an execution only service not required to notify of AGMs, had emailed confirmation of AGM registration requiring only suitable identification, and that nil value entries were book cost adjustments. The ombudsman upheld EP's position, finding the execution only service did not require AGM notifications, that email confirmation achieved the necessary outcome, and that nil value entries were correctly recorded with an offer to suppress them.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that EP's execution only service did not require AGM notifications, making it the investor's responsibility to research AGM dates. Although EP did not provide the specific letter of corporate authority requested, it achieved the same outcome by emailing confirmation of registration and identifying the identification requirement for entry. The nil value entries were correctly recorded as book cost adjustments rather than material transactions, and EP appropriately offered to suppress them.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website