Paphos People

The BBC’s flagship current affairs programme Panorama will feature the activities of offshore IFAs as part of an investigation into the fees and commissions taken by advisers for pension products and the sales tactics they use to earn them.

An episode due to be aired on BBC One will include a section on Cyprus-based Inter-Alliance Worldnet (IAW), which has been promoting Sipp business through UK subsidiary PCD Wealth Management.

Panorama will allege advisers from IAW were taking high commissions and fees which stripped out significant percentages of clients’ total pension pots for transferring into the Sipps..

PCD is not an FSA-registered firm and not licensed to advise on domestic UK pension business.

UK pension firm Hornbuckle Mitchell, which administered IAW's Sipp transfers, ceased accepting business from the firm when it emerged in June that the IFA was not authorised to give pensions advice.

Hornbuckle has since been criticised for failing to carry out sufficient due diligence on IAW.

Last month IAW gave an undertaking to the FSA to cease advising on UK pension business after accepting that its authorisation through the EU Insurance Mediation Directive (IMD) did not permit such activity.
Taken from International adviser magazine.

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