Richard Fenech and Heather Dunne have challenged the FCA’s Decision Notices by referring them to the Upper Tribunal. These notices reflect the FCA’s view of their conduct and proposed penalties. However, no action will be taken until the Tribunal reaches its decision, which will be published on its website.

The Tribunal will determine whether the financial penalties, prohibition orders, or withdrawal of approvals should be upheld, dismissed, or reconsidered by the FCA based on its findings.

The FCA has proposed banning Richard Fenech and Heather Dunne from working in financial services and fining them £270,646 and £399,817 respectively. The regulator found that their flawed advice model put clients’ guaranteed pension benefits at substantial risk. Additionally, Heather Dunne failed to exercise due skill, care, and diligence in providing pension transfer advice.

Richard Fenech, the sole director of Financial Solutions Midhurst Limited (FSML), oversaw Heather Dunne, who operated as FSML’s appointed representative under the trading name HDIFA.

Heather Dunne’s pension transfer advice neglected the destination of her clients’ investments due to a flawed two-adviser model. In this setup, Dunne handled pension transfer advice, while another firm offered investment advice post-transfer. This disjointed approach left her unaware of where client funds would ultimately go, exposing them to unsuitable transfers.

An alarming 92% of Dunne’s clients were advised to transfer out of their defined benefit pension schemes, resulting in over £126 million being transferred—often contrary to their best interests.

As FSML’s director, Fenech failed to address the risks associated with HDIFA’s advice model, despite warnings from an external compliance consultant. He also failed to ensure Dunne’s compliance with regulatory standards.

Both individuals acted without integrity by participating in the dishonest submission of a backdated appointed representative agreement to the FCA.

Therese Chambers, Joint Executive Director of Enforcement and Market Oversight, stated:
“Trust in pension advice is essential. The actions of these individuals were wholly unacceptable, exposing customers to significant financial risk. Dunne’s fundamentally flawed advice and Fenech’s oversight failures demonstrated a blatant disregard for their clients’ needs. Their bans from the industry are entirely justified.”

The FCA has confirmed its intent to fine and ban Fenech and Dunne, but both have contested these decisions at the Tribunal.

Dunne’s fine was reduced from £494,917 to £399,817 due to evidence of potential financial hardship.

FSML has since been dissolved, and HDIFA has ceased trading. The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) has already paid over £770,490 to compensate affected FSML clients, with total losses estimated at nearly £2 million.