Many in our industry are protesting about the supposed unfairness of the recent High Court decision to grant a couple’s claim against their adviser for outstanding losses, in spite of having been awarded compensation through the Financial Ombudsman Service (Fos).
My view is that advisers need to wake up and smell the coffee. Given that the amount Barry and Julie Clark claimed they lost far exceeds the maximum amount able to be awarded in compensation by the Fos, why should they not have the opportunity to get full redress for the bad advice they received?
The money should have been conservatively invested to protect the couple’s capital but the advice given looks questionable to say the least.The Clarks claimed they lost £500,000 from money which was invested as a result of selling their business. In a judgment, dated December 19, Judge Ross Cranston ruled that the Clarks could claim further damages from In Focus Asset Management & Tax Solutions, in spite of the firm having paid the maximum allowed £100,000 compensation following a Fos judgment.
The money should have been conservatively invested to protect the couple’s capital but the advice given looks questionable to say the least. Judge Cranston said in the ruling the trading in an endowment policy had been “disastrous” in this case.
This is a wake-up call for all advisers to triple check their advice is entirely correct and appropriate. If our clients lose money and it’s our fault, we should be held to account not only by the Fos, but by the courts as well.
Carl Lamb is managing director of Almary Green
