A Tory councillor, this week described as an “incompetent” financial advisor and banned from providing any advice on pension transfers, remains in charge of Durham County Council’s Pension Committee.
Labour has demanded the immediate removal of Cllr Mark Abley, whose County Capital Wealth Management Ltd is now in liquidation, with the Tudhoe councillor being ordered to pay more than £100,000 to customers after giving bad advice to those wanting to invest their pensions.
County Durham Labour Leader, Cllr Carl Marshall:
“People work hard their entire professional life and pay into a pension to make sure that once they retire, they are covered financially, but the bad advice of this Conservative councillor robbed people of that comfort and peace of mind.
“However, what is more concerning is that the Tory-led Coalition thought it appropriate to instal this councillor as the Chair of Council’s Pension Committee – which is responsible for the entire Council pension fund.
“Cllr Abley must be removed from this post immediately and, if they have any decency at all, removed as a councillor altogether. As an elected public servant, every decision we make must be for the good of the people we represent. How can someone who acts this way with people’s hard-earned pension funds be trusted to make those decisions?
“Will the Coalition follow the lead of its Government and try and brush this under the carpet, or will it do the right thing for the Council and act swiftly to remove this incompetent individual.”
Labour has written to the Leader of the Council, Liberal; Democrat, Cllr Amanda Hopgood, demanding Cllr Abley’s immediate removal.
His ban from Financial Conduct Authority relates to advice he gave 575 customers to transfer out of their defined benefit pension schemes. Over half of this advice failed to meet the required standard, and showed a “lack of competence”, resulting in him providing unsuitable pension transfer advice, putting customer’s pensions at unnecessary risk against their best interest.
Labour Deputy Leader, Cllr Rob Crute, said:
“The FCA comments about Cllr Abley’s approach are incredibly damning and should set alarm bells ringing with the Tory-led Coalition which took the decision to make him Chair of the Council’s Pension Committee.
“Labour does not want this man anywhere near our pension pot and someone who acts so incompetently with people’s hard-earned money should not be contributing to multi-million pound investment decisions on the Council.”
The FCA said Mr Abley failed to obtain information required to make suitable recommendations and did not properly assess if the customer could understand and bear the financial risks of transferring their guaranteed pension. He failed to provide evidence to show the transfers were in customers’ best interest, and there were errors in calculations used to compare customers’ existing pension schemes with the schemes it was proposed they transfer into.
He will pay £106,100 to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), to contribute towards the redress owed to his customers.