Group to take on UK Government following Suspension of Guernsey Investment Fund
On the first of December 2011, news broke that trading in Guernsey based EEA Life Settlements Fund was suspended following a surprise announcement from the then UK regulatory body, the Financial Services Authority (FSA). More than two years later, investors are still locked out of their money and, although action is being taken to attempt to secure the long term return to investors, there remains some uncertainty about the outcome.
This site is being set up as a focal point for those who believe the actions of the then FSA constituted unprofessional behaviour and a serious failing in the regulator’s duty of care towards investors.
Over the coming days, more details will be added but if your funds were frozen or reduced by that FSA announcement please follow this blog.
Action Group For Life Settlement Fund Investors 
Mark – there is a helpful guide to making claims for mis-selling on http://www.EEAInvestors.com . Although it was written in relation to EEA, much of the information would also be helpful for you
Thanks David. I’ll take a look. Fingers crossed.
I changed financial advisers after being missold MPL TPF. How can I/we make a claim for misselling?
Sorry Mark, I don’t know anything about how to conduct misselling claims. Pete
Please ask Mark to contact me as I am invested in MPL’s TPF
Do you mean that you have invested in it, too? How can I/we make a claim for misselling?
While not an investor in Life Settlements I fully support this action in reaction to the incompetent & irresponsible statements made by the FSA that led to this whole mess.
It’s disappointing that there is no direct way to contact the site/initiative manager though.
Good luck with the campaign!
You just did – thanks for your support!
Pete
I have discovered that trail commission has been paid throughout the period of the EEA Senior Life Settlements suspension. I bought Meteor units as a direct investor via a discount broker who has confirmed receiving such commission from Meteor. Meteor says it is bound to forward such commissions as EEA distribute them. I CANNOT BELIEVE IT!
A second point is that Meteor removed the £50K hurdle imposed by EEA and reduced it to £10K for first time investors. Perhaps the FCA should have noticed?
I was originally an IFA before retiring a few years ago,my company definitely was NOT paid commission by Meteor whist funds were suspended.As I have nothing to do with the old firm these days I do not know the current situation.But I repeat we was previously NOT paid any renewal commissions.
There is a twist to this story. I am a Meteor investor and I asked my IFA to check whether he was still receiving trail commissions. He checked and said that they ceased in June 2012. But when he spoke to Meteor he was told that they were still receiving the payments from EEA bit didn’t know what to do about passing on the IFA’s portion, so were holding it in a side account. Presumably they finally decide what to do with the money and now the trail commissions are back on track. In most cases it’s possible to ask Meteor to re-register your shares directly with EEA and therefore stop the flow of trail commissions to Meteor and the IFAs. There is a bit of paperwork involved, but nothing very onerous or complicated. For more info see http://www.EEAInvestors.com
The FSA at the time started this the Government should answer not pass the buck to IFA`s that sold it………
How many investors are British expats, are any willing to e mail me. I am trying to write a piece for Telegraph Weekly expat on the latest developments. Was the latest FCA move to forestall your action ? Mike Goodman. you can see some of my stuff on www,telegraph.,co.uk/expat ..my last piece was two weeks ago on pensions. I believe some of you are expats in Hong Kong.
Hi Michael. If I can be of any help I would be pleased to.
Rod Holland.
Hi Michael,
I was miss sold my EEA policy in Barbados by a British IFA Richard Baxter of International Broker Consultants. He assured me that it was a safe and low risk and a perfect fund for my retirement savings . Subsequently he has made no effort to advise or help me . What can i do !
Any more information you need please contact me.
Paul Hamilton.
Peter it all seems have gone quiet, & now the FCA is telling us to make a claim for miss selling. I have double what you have invested in EEA life. I split my investment because I was uneasy about Connaught!!! I have at least got c.75% back so far, of that, though.
However as A Spanish resident, having bought a Guernsey based Concept, EEA life part of my Aurora QROPS pension pot. Do I complain? IF so Who To? I bought the fund in Spain from a UK IFA working in Spain. He is now Cyprus registered! What a mess!
I agree with your video. That was exactly the reason that I Bought as well, plus I had worked in medical products all my life. I understood the proposition & how it should work, if well done.
Can you offer me any clues as to my possible paths??
Many thanks & well done. Rod holland
Rod
Please take a look at our website http://www.EEAInvestors.com and/or send me an email EEAInvestors@gmail.com. We have a number of members in Spain and can probably give you some good information and help.
Regards
David Trinkwon
Coordinator – EEA Investors’ Group
Rod, I’m not qualified to offer advice but you might try complaining to the FCA. They may reject it out of hand because your IFA and your investment were both outside the UK but I think you have nothing to lose. I haven’t complained but couldn’t resist sending an email to the FCA telling them exactly what I thought of them. Not a prudent course of action but they were the ones who ‘mis-sold’ in my view by presenting themselves as a reputable regulator and approving a fund they subsequently decided to torpedo. The savers in any fund, whether properly or poorly run, deserve much better than the way the FSA acted.
Here is a link if you wish to try complaining: http://www.fca.org.uk/news/investors-in-eea-life-settlements-fund-should-consider-making-a-complaint-now
Good luck!
Pete
Thanks for your reply. I am sure that the request to put in a complaint is just a tactic to divide & offset the issue, so that it goes in to a load of small court cases that rattle on for years. They then avoid the issue & emerge with no blame having established that it was only miss selling !
Spot on Rod, they’re just trying to divert attention from their own failings.
Hi Rod, you sound the same as me, Concept / Aurora / Spanish expat, Pension totally gone west, EEA, LM Aus, Axiom, LAM, all monies lost. Now having to work as the Pension is on the rocks, what a waste of 40 years of savings!! Brian = alteabrian@gmail.com
I represent the Ark Class Action – a collection of pension schemes (with underlying assets as dodgy as EEA’s) in a massive pension liberation scam which has resulted in huge tax liabilities. We have included some EEA members in the group and our aim is to pursue the financial advisers who sold the schemes for redress. We are also looking at pursuing the original pension providers who negligently effected the transfers without due diligence. Ark, and its successor Marazion/Evergreen (a New Zealand QROPS suspended in 2012), were mis-sold to hundreds of victims by financial advisers who made a packet selling fraudulent pensions and loans. These same FA’s were also selling EEA. Seems there is much more money to be made selling the dodgy stuff than the safe, respectable, low-risk stuff.
This action group wasn’t set up to go for IFAs, who are often the soft target. I’m also of the opinion that the FSA was the real villain of the piece and everything else distracts attention away from this.
I believe there is a sort of “pyramid” of culpable parties. At ground level you have the people who set up a toxic/high risk/fraudulent scheme. Above that you have those who provide the regulation to allow the scheme to be registered and regulated (HMRC, tPR, FCA). Above that you have the original pension providers who allow the transfers without checking for fraud or non-compliance. And right at the top – the pointy bit – you have the financial advisers who sell these schemes. They are all part of the chain of events that leads up to loss (of capital and income), liability and distress to the members.
In the case of EEA, the villains were / are the conflicted Directors plus the “independent experts” who wrongly valued and estimated the 200 “high value” policies that crept into the portfolio (most of which are still there), plus the Guernsey Financial Services Commission and Ernst Young who failed to spot the mismanagement and misrepresentation that went on from inception until after the FSA (clumsily) stopped the music in 2011. This was then compounded by the prolonged suspension, detrimental restructuring and further failings of the GFSC to protect the interests of investors. IFAs and platforms have subsequently played their part in hiding the facts from their clients and obstructing attempts to bring the Directors to account – for fear of recrimination by their clients and/or interruption of the flow of trail commissions.
Yes, I agree the situation is somewhat different to my own. Thank you for your comments.
Spot on, David. The manager of the small investment company dealt with was extremely honourable, and recognised the lapse, for which we are grateful. A
We were able to redeem our investment in full, by acting very early, the day after the suspension of the fund, via the PII of the investment company who eventually took responsibility for our claim of mis-selling. We received the full amount plus a small consideration for stress. It was our second ‘nightmare’ having been invested in Equitable Life previously. So there are grounds for a claim for full repayment, which can be achieved by pushing very hard indeed. I hope others are able to do the same. We were looking for a low risk investment, as part of a retirement plan, and were truly shaken when it was suspended. We were very relieved to receive the payment, much needed. Good luck to others who have been led on by unscrupulous IFAs. Much determination needed.
Allison
Can you please confirm if this investment was with EEA? I put in a redemption request the day before the suspension and was told I was too late for the dealing day.
Thanks
Pete
Peter
I believe that you and Allison are talking about two different situations. As I understand it, Allison pursued a successful mis-selling claim against her advisor and the Professional Indemnity Insurer eventually paid a full redund plus redress. The shares weren’t “redeemed” by EEA – they are still sitting with the PI Insurer or IFA somewhere. Several people have been able to make successful mis-selling claims, and in some cases the FCA has instigated such redress after a thematic review etc.
In your case, you presumably tried to lodge a redemption request with EEA and were told that it wasn’t possible because all transactions for the 1st Dec 2011 dealing day were cancelled. so you (and the rest of us) are still stuck with the shares.
David
Anyone who has invested in the EEA Life Settlements Fund or the Meteor Senior Life Dettlements Fund or the Way Life Settlements Fund should also contact me at EEAInvestors@gmail.com or via http://www.EEAInvestors.com or at +44 (0)7802 538315.
We fully endorse Peter’s Action Group but are separately campaigning and taking actions against EEA, the Guernsey Regualator and Auditors (rather than the UK government) and trying to get a better outcome for the EEA investors.
Hi, my father’s IFA transferred his pension into the EEA even though my dad was 5 years of retirement and asked for a low risk fund. The company the IFA has now gone into liquidation and so we have started legal proceedings to make a claim against their PII for negligent advice.
I am sharing this action group blog on islsp’s life settlement association Linkedin Group for wider exposure to industry experts and input… 1400+ members. See discussion in Group at: http://linkedin.com/e/gis/77599
Thank you George, I didn’t know about the group and will apply to join.
I am very interested in joining this group as I have also lost money with this fund having bought following advice from a Spanish based IFA. I assume that in signing up here, I am now registered.
Although not part of this discussion, I am also interested if anyone else is involved with the Axiom Legal Financing fund which is in an even worse state!
You are now registered Malcom. I don’t the details of the Axiom Fund difficulties I’m afraid, but if they are similar, I wold hope you can drum up support for our cause. Setting a precedent might help all who have recieved shoddy treatment at the hands of the regulator!
Hi. I have just found this site through a link on the Armhelp site which I have been following. I invested my small pension pot in ARM, just under £50k, via an IFA employed by Rockingham. I have all the correspondence confirming that I asked at our meeting for a low risk investment to be placed in a SIPP and this was confirmed by them.
When the money suddenly stopped with no warning I contacted both the FSA and the FSCA to the effect that I had been badly advised. Had I known the plan was high risk and unregulated I would have looked elsewhere. After filling in all the various forms I received, and sending the lot, including copies of my letters, I received a long reply written in a manner meant to confuse. Condensing their reply down to a couple of words it was basically “get lost”
I have taken no further action in this direction but await the outcome of current negotiations. What does concern me is the hint that if I am lucky I may get back my money less anything I have already been paid. This is patently wrong as someone somewhere has been sat on my money for a long time for nothing. I have always assumed that IFA’s carried insurance to cover miss-selling and that as the amount was below £50k I would be ok.
It seems a shame that a quango like the FSA, now the FCA, are not held to account but continue to receive their own high wages despite their inability to do their job. Self regulating is a bit like putting the fox in charge of the chicken run.
For those who are interested, a separate action group exists that is scrutinizing the running of EEA and they can be contacted on EEAInvestors@gmail.com
Hi Peter,
You may also like to advise Brian of the EEA Investors Group who can be contacted through David Trinkwon
There have been a few recent developments that are of interest to all shareholders.
Mike
Hi Peter,you mention in your video,that money could well be tied up for several years yet.I understood under the terms of the recent vote that money would be available from 23 months beginning Jan 1st 2014(Dec 2015)
Hi Brian, I think they said that this was the earliest and that it will be subject to review. Also that only a percentage would initially be available. I got the impression that they were not making a firm commitment on anything.
Brian
I can definitely help you on this. Please email EEAInvestors@gmail.com or phone David on +44 (0) 7802 538315
I invested through Meteor.Senior Life Policy
Is the Action Group for Life Settlements Fund Investors just for UK residents and UK investors or is it representing worldwide investors, both Expats and UK residents? Many EEA investors are British Expats who are permanently non-UK resident.
Mike, a number of investors have asked whether or not it is my intention to include other jurisdictions and other Life Settlement funds in our case against the UK Government. Unfortunately my response at this time has to be ‘wordy’ and a little ambiguous because we are still collecting evidence.
At this stage my intention is to challenge the regulator on behalf of any life settlement fund investors who lost access to their funds as a direct consequence of the FSA announcement on 28th November 2011. There are two major milestones; the first is to get a verdict or an admission of guilt, and the second to agree compensation. Proving guilt should assist anyone who has lost as a result of their actions to make a claim but I do not yet know if it will be realistic for me to make claims for compensation on behalf of overseas investors. Indeed, it may be necessary for all investors to submit an individual claim at some point; as I understand it, this depends on whether or not our approach includes a class action. In addition, there seem to be two components to the guilt, first that their behaviour was unprofessional and the second that it was a failure in their duty of care. Their duty of care may be argued to apply only to UK investors but we know that in some previous examples (I’m thinking of Landesbanki), settlements were achieved beyond national boundaries. It seems to me that our case does not hinge upon whether or not the FSA should have taken any action, it is about the nature and timing of the action they took as well as the failure in their duty of care.
As an EEA investor residing in the UK but who took out the investment whilst living in Guernsey (outside the UK), I have more information about that fund and these jurisdictions. I will probably to continue to make the case with reference only to EEA but once proven this should assist all funds and hopefully residents outside the UK. I believe it is best to create a precedent using one example and I hope that this will open the doors to claimants from all the affected funds and all locations.
Thanks Peter,In my case although a British Expat living permanently overseas I purchased shares in EEA life Settlements Fund through a UK based and registered investment house as a direct investment and not through a platform. Perhaps this adds another angle to the story!
Yes, it might well add another dimension Mike. If the case against the FSA is proven then all UK investment houses and IFAs might reasonably have a claim on behalf of their investors, irrespective of location but it may be that for these investors, compensation is awarded via a different scheme/mechanism.
I’m also conscious that in their determinations prior to the announcement, the FSA referenced offshore jurisdictions and the announcement itself conceded “There are also considerations under EU law that will affect what we can do.” Interesting given they were already doing it!
I don’t have the legal expertise to rule in or out our ability to fight for the rights of all investors damaged by the FSA action but I do have the desire to do so if we are able without compromising the case.
Peter, I have just found this site and am delighted to see that someone is taking the trouble to do something about the dreadful injustice we have suffered with this investment in eea life settlement fund.I didn’t invest through an ifa so I feel on my own in decision making. I didn’t opt for the restructuring. I am resident in the UK. It would appear that you are planning to take legal action on behalf of investors but I am puzzled as to how this will be funded? Keep up the good work.
David
David, I am seeking legal advice and representation on a contingency basis but also hoping to gather political support that may circumvent the need for the legal process. Some legal advisers seem to want us to attack IFAs, perhaps they are considered the soft target, but it seems clear to me that the regulator either failed to act swiftly enough to prevent the huge amounts invested, or responded unprofessionally and without sufficient care in the action they eventually took.
Dear Alan
Thank you very much for responding to my messages, I am very grateful. I am already aware of the link that you gave me, I keep watching that page very closely, but they also have a link to this website, which is how I found it. So I presume trade policy bonds must be a different thing to the traded policy funds. I am not very knowledgeable regarding financial products unfortunately.
Karen
Karen,
We are all investors in this type of product and are out to help each other, so please feel free to write to me on any of your concerns, although I am not invested in your product.
Alan
PS Bed calls!
Alan, thank you very much for your response. Up until now I have not received any advice about whether to move the funds and I was very concerned, as my funds have dwindled down to approximately half of what they were, due to the company that arranged the fund and then the two top tiers, (if I can call them that) all wanting to take their share of my investment. I suppose the only good thing is, if I can can change the Euros into Dollars, then that’s a good thing for me, especially as I reside in Argentina, and pesos for the blue dollar is very good at the moment. I wasn’t sure how the liquidators would know who and were we are individually. But on their website they requested that the bondholders fill in a form with proof of investment, so now they will have me on their database anyway.
Dear Karen,
I’m not sure whether it is EEA Life Settlements or Managing Partners Ltd, Traded Policies Fund that you are invested with? Either way, if you control your investment then you win, you save the charges of the custodian and you are not dependent on the reliability of your custodian/provider.
As you say, a switch to USD’s would be very advantageous when your resident country has such a weak currency.
By the way, I am resident in the Isle of Man.
If it is EEA that you are invested in then David Trinkwon [david.trinkwon@gmail.com] is worth contacting, (mention me) he runs the EEA Action Group and works tirelessly for the shareholders.
Hi Alan
Now, I’m beginning to wonder if this is a different investment covered on this website to the one that I have. Mine is SLS Capital SA which is with Hansard International Ltd, who are also in the Isle of Man, the ARM Bonds. Is this the right website, or is this a completely different thing?
Karen,
This website is dealing with all Traded Policies Funds, is your investment of this type, if so then this website will help.
Regards,
Alan
Dear Karen,
It looks like the ARM bond is a traded policy bond so, this site should help you, i have just Googled “ARM” and this site might also be useful to you http://www.armhelp.co.uk/
Alan.
Karen
This announcement issued today may be of interest.
Alan
Karen
http://www.ftadviser.com/2014/03/12/investments/alternative-investments/arm-liquidators-report-m-windfall-from-asset-sale-mGDpCTxrFpLiKO8HMPmn9M/article.html
Sorry, I omitted to show the link.
Alan
I would also like to join your group. I invested 80,000 Euros via a company in Spain, that is trading illegally and unfortunately because of this I would not be covered by the FSA. And my investment is with Hamilton Trust in the Isle of Man, whom I have not found to be very sympathetic or helpful and still charging me monthly fees for my fund, so if there is anything to be returned to us they will swallow a huge chunk of it. I have the option to have the fund transferred solely into my name, but am worried then about how I would learn of any new outcomes and claim something back in the future.
If your tax planning is not affected by moving the funds shares into your own name then i would move the investment. You would probably be better informed as you would be dealing with the fund’s administrators directly and they are duty bound to keep you updated both the value of the fund and anything affecting it. EEA action group will also keep you informed and so will the Guernsey Stock Exchange as all announcements are posted there.
Phil
I agree I am a Rockingham Client same thing has happened to me with the ARM Bond, first miss sold the Bond then the FSA meddle and we lose the lot. Again the offer will be 50k compensation but what about the rest of the money?
Here is a thought, Rockingham was fined for miss-selling, their insurance was revoked, but they continued to trade, why didn’t the FSA act? This then, it is said gave Rockingham the only option but to close the Business.
But I have a question, if Rockingham had insurance at the time when my bond was purchased then some of the Rockingham Fee went to pay that insurance. So shouldn’t that insurance company have a responsibility to all those who purchased the ARM bond in good faith..
How do i join?
Julian by registering here, you have joined and will be kept up to date with all the news. ITV/Channel TV will be reporting on their news program this evening subject to scheduling. They have a ‘Channel TV Online’ website where you can watch afterwards if you’re not local.
I have invested in the fund and this looks like a good case for full recovery including damages against the government
On too many occassions the FSA have acted, not in the best interests of investors but creating a false state of affairs, as was the case with the ARM product. The person concerned left her position, ultimately to be removed from her follow on position. Actions of the FSA were unprofessional in the extreme depriving me of a 10 year Draw Down Pension of £320,082 x10.25% since 5th June 2009 when my Funds were first invested through Rockingam Retirement Ltd.
I am now faced with a situation, in the short term, of claiming £50,000 through the FSCS and possibly losing all other benefits if a restructuring takes place – the outcome of which may leave me considerably worse off. The whole deplorable affair was brought about by the FSA over-reacting, as was the case with other EEA Life Settlement Funds and someone should come to our rescue.
That is the aim of this group John.
This is a mess made by the UK Government due to a lack of corporate governance over the FSA.
How Can I Join?
That’s it done Gavin!
Can I have your email. contact details
I am invested through Managing Partners Ltd and their Traded Policy Fund is closed to redemption’s
Hello. Is it still possible to be part of the group action ( class action ) and send the file from my uncle who had taken out a life insurance investment contract , sold by SYGNIA LIFE in Africa South ?
The contract is : EEA Life Settlement Agreement Policy EUR Fund for more than 200 K € ?
And you have the email address of Mr. LIHOU ?
Thank you for your reply.
Régis PRIEUR
The application was sent to the court several weeks ago so I’m afraid it’s too late to add your uncle. However, we don’t yet know how the court will deal with so many claims and it’s possible, if they allow our application, they might put a process in place that allows additional applicants.
The best thing you can do is to follow this site for news and I will always try to include as many people as we are permitted if it doesn’t compromise existing claims (and I’ve no reason to believe it would).
Kind regards
Pete Lihou