Not upheld: mis-selling / misleading information regarding annual management charges and investment management responsibilities complaint against Aviva Life & Pensions UK Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr F complained that Aviva misled him by charging an 'annual management charge' when it was not actually managing his pension fund investments. He believed Aviva should have been actively monitoring and switching his investments, and wanted refunds of the AMCs and compensation for investment losses. The ombudsman found that Aviva's annual statements, when read together, made clear that Mr F was responsible for reviewing his fund and that Aviva could not provide financial advice. The fund's underperformance was attributable to market conditions rather than any error by Aviva, and the charges were correctly applied for servicing the pension. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that Aviva's annual statements, when read as a whole, made clear that Mr F was responsible for reviewing his fund and that Aviva was unable to provide financial advice. The use of the word 'management' in the AMC description referred to the fund manager's investment decisions within the fund itself, not Aviva's management of Mr F's individual pension. The pension's underperformance was attributable to market conditions and global events rather than any error by Aviva, and the fund's returns were comparable to benchmark indices.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website