A company that managed two pension funds has been wound up by the court for failing to adequately look after £14m of members' funds.
Ecroignard Trustees was wound up yesterday (September 2) by the High Court in Manchester following an investigation by the Insolvency Service.
The Official Receiver has now been appointed as liquidator.
Ecroignard Trustees acted as the trustee for two pension schemes - The Uniway Systems Retirement Benefits Scheme and the Genwick Retirement Benefits Scheme, which involved 229 members and £14m in investments.
After receiving complaints, the Insolvency Service carried out an investigation into the company’s activities and found numerous instances of misconduct.
Scott Crighton, chief investigator for the Insolvency Service, said: “When people invest their pension funds as a way of planning for their futures, they don’t expect their saving pots to be put at risk.
“Ecroignard’s management of the pension schemes, however, raised considerable red flags and questions remain which will need to be looked into by the Official Receiver as liquidator of the company.
“If you are considering moving your pension into an investment scheme, we strongly recommend you do your research beforehand and if you believe you have been affected by Ecroignard to contact the Official Receiver as soon possible.”
The Insolvency Service found that Ecroignard Trustees used pension funds to invest in illiquid, high-risk investments which were not suitable for the scheme members.
The government body also found the trustees had failed to comply with statutory requirements, best practice guidance and internal governance requirements.
Members of the scheme were not told of proposed changes to their investments or given the chance to choose how their funds should be invested going forward, the investigators said.
Due to the company failing to maintain adequate records investigators were unable to determine whether all the investments were accounted for and could not decipher members' contributions and payments made from Ecroignard Trustees’ bank accounts.
It is also unclear who has been involved and responsible for the management of Ecroignard Trustees since Roger Bessent resigned as a director in April 2017, the Insolvency Service stated.
It said there were concerns that the current director, Anthony Waterfield, had insufficient knowledge of Ecroignard Trustees' trading to be able to manage the company properly.
This was after he was unable to provide key information to investigators, such as the schemes’ assets and the status of the schemes.
Despite Mr Bessent resigning from the company and being disqualified from managing companies in November 2017, he appeared to remain an authority within the company as he remained the sole signatory on the company’s bank account until October 2018, the Insolvency Service found.
amy.austin@ft.com
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