I was shaking my head in disbelief at your headline 'Apfa probes 'questionable' Fos rulings in fairness drive' (FA, 2 March) regarding Apfa’s latest excursion out of the trenches to save the IFA sector. This time over Sipps allegedly “subsequently used” to purchase worthless crud.
Really? Does anyone seriously believe that a client approaches an IFA and says: “please trash up my PP’s/DB benefits into a Sipp”, without the adviser asking: "why?" You simply cannot give suitable Sipp advice without fully considering: (a) what the Sipp is going to invest in and; (b) how that moves the client holistically forward from where they are in their existing schemes/plans. Come on guys, this is FPC1 stuff.
When are IFAs going to learn to resist the temptation and walk away from helping to destroy peoples finances? Of course there can be valid reasons. If the client is going to use the Sipp to buy their office or whatever get an attendance note to that effect and get them to sign it. Some third party evidence is also a good idea. Is this really so hard? Give Fos something to think about at least – these are just a turkey shoot for them. Back to the drawing board Apfa.
Andrew Hummersome
Chartered financial planner
Whitehall Randall
Dartford
Kent
