Troubled SIPP firm Hartley Pensions Limited has today entered administration.
The firm has provided thousands of SIPPs and also manages a small number of Small Self-Administered Schemes (SSAS) regulated by the Pensions Regulator.
The directors of Hartley Pensions have today (July 29) placed the firm into administration at the request of the FCA and appointed Peter Kubik and Brian Johnson of UHY Hacker Young LLP as joint administrators.
The FCA says the joint administrators of Hartley Pensions will soon write to clients.
Earlier this month, at Hartley’s request, the FCA suspended Hartley Pensions’ ability to accept new pension contributions as the firm tried to resolve a number of “issues”.
Hartley has also temporarily stopped transferring or switching SIPPs or SSASs.
On March 4, the FCA banned Hartley from engaging in new business. A restriction on the sale of property has also been introduced. In March, the FCA said the requirements were being introduced because of a number of “serious operational and regulatory challenges” the firm was trying to deal with, and said they were designed to protect the firm’s clients.
Neither the FCA nor Hartley have yet clarified what the issues are.
Hartley is looking for another SIPP operator to take over the running of the firm.
The FCA states that existing SIPP and SSAS assets are not affected by the restrictions as they are held in trust by individual trust companies.
Hartley Pensions has taken over the client books of several SIPP providers in recent years. In February 2020, after the collapse of the firm, it was listed in the Guinness Book of Mahon. The deal saw the transfer of 4,000 SIPPs previously run by GMTC, which has been plagued by a series of problems and lawsuits from disgruntled customers.
Other SIPP books the firm has acquired in recent years include GPC, Berkeley Burke SIPP and Greyfriars AM.
