­
THIS WEDNESDAY - How can we encourage more women to take an interest in investing? - Register for the webinar

Press Release: ShareSoc Helps Clients of Hartley Pensions Regain Control of their SIPPs

Hartley Pensions entered administration in July 2022.

Since early 2023, ShareSoc has been providing support to Hartley Pensions Self Invested Pension Plan (SIPP) clients, helping them regain access to their pension assets. To date, only 2,000 SIPPs, out of a total of some 16,000, have been transferred to other providers.

ShareSoc is in close communication with the FCA, who has now agreed to assist in cases where direct communication between affected clients and Hartley Pensions has not been satisfactory. We have already brought a number of individual cases to the regulator’s attention, and the resulting assistance has been helpful in progressing matters.

To facilitate ShareSoc’s support to the many Hartley clients stuck in limbo, it has formed the Hartley Pensions Client Support Group. Hartley clients experiencing difficulties can join the Support Group and sign up as Full members to receive individual assistance from ShareSoc.

Background

ShareSoc was approached by one of its members, a Hartley Pensions client, in early 2023. Since then, ShareSoc has worked closely with several parties to press the case for Hartley Pension clients: the Joint Administrators (JAs) at UHY, the FCA, and law firm FS Legal (which represented clients).

ShareSoc’s first major success, in collaboration with FS Legal, came in early 2024, when the FSCS (Financial Services Compensation Scheme) finally agreed to cover the significant costs of the complex processes involved in resolving the position for Hartley’s SIPP clients.

Until that point, the administrators were proposing to apply exceptional charges to clients’ SIPP accounts to cover those costs and commenced legal proceedings to enable it. ShareSoc strongly opposed this approach and lobbied for the FSCS to fulfil its mandate to cover client losses (up to £85,000) when financial service providers fail. A full year after agreement was reached between the JAs and the FSCS, ShareSoc is disappointed that progress in transferring SIPPs continues to be glacial. We welcome the FCA’s support in seeking to accelerate this process.

About ShareSoc

ShareSoc (The UK Individual Shareholders Society) is the premier organisation dedicated to representing and supporting UK private investors. Through advocacy, education, and community-building, ShareSoc works to enhance the rights and opportunities of all individual investors. The not-for-profit organisation campaigns for better corporate governance, provides resources to help investors make informed decisions, and offers a platform for connecting with like-minded investors.

ShareSoc’s mission is to ensure that the voice of the individual investor is heard and respected in the UK’s financial markets. For more information, visit www.sharesoc.org.

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.