Accountant fined £75k over pensions advice failures

Belfast accountant David Watters has been fined £75,000 by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for failing to exercise due skill, care and diligence in his role as compliance oversight officer, firstly at FGS McClure Watters (FGS) and then Lanyon Astor Buller Ltd (LAB).

Following an investigation, the FCA found that Watters failed to take reasonable steps to ensure that the process in place at FGS and LAB, for giving advice on enhanced transfer value (ETV) pension transfer exercises, was adequate and met regulatory standards. The regulator said this led to a serious risk of unsuitable advice being given to customers of FGS and LAB about the merits of transferring their pension, from a defined benefit (DB) to a defined contribution (DC) scheme, as part of an ETV pension transfer exercise.