Former adviser Ivan Massow has closed down his commission recovery business due to the “escalating costs of FCA regulatory fees levies, and the costs of PI insurance”.
In a note posted on the service’s website yesterday, Mr Massow said the firm had been making a loss every time it paid back commission to a customer because “the FCA class it as regulated income received by us, rather than the unregulated income rebated to the customer which it actually is”.
Existing customers at the firm were contacted yesterday and the note said the firm would continue to provide them with any further updates in the coming weeks.
The business, Massow’s, was launched in September 2011 to deal with the ‘orphan clients’ expected to be a by-product of the RDR.
It promised to deliver 80 per cent of the trail commission on share classes back to the customer, keeping 20 per cent as a fee for its service.
