Certes Capital Limited (formerly Marlborough Pension Trustees Limited) ("Certes") (2019-10-18)

Summary

This is a public statement issued by the Guernsey Financial Services Commission under section 11C of the Financial Services Commission Law concerning Certes Capital Limited (formerly Marlborough Pension Trustees Limited), a former fiduciary licensee that provided pension and savings solutions. It sets out the Commission's findings that Certes failed to meet the Minimum Criteria for Licensing under the Fiduciaries Law, but explains that no financial penalty is being imposed because Certes is insolvent and in voluntary liquidation, so a penalty would only harm creditors.

• Penalty context: The Commission would otherwise have imposed a £30,000 financial penalty under section 11D of the Financial Services Commission Law, but did not do so because Certes is insolvent and a penalty would adversely affect creditors.
• Fit and proper failings: Certes was found to have failed the fit and proper and integrity and skill criteria in Schedule 1 of the Fiduciaries Law, including competence and soundness of judgement (paragraph 3(2)(a)) and compliance with Commission rules and guidance (paragraph 1(2)(b)).
• Investment manager appointment: Certes appointed an unregulated introducer and a successor investment manager without adequate due diligence, competence checks or evidence of suitability.
• Due diligence timing: Certes accepted the introducer before completing internal due diligence and compliance sign off, which were finalised months after acceptance.
• Failure to monitor pension transfer advice: Certes stopped reviewing pension transfer advice from the introducer after only a few reports and could not evidence how it satisfied itself that transfers were in members' best interests.
• Misleading valuations and risk mismatch: Certes issued annual valuations that may have overstated performance of suspended funds, and underlying investments were often higher risk than members' stated low or medium risk preferences, breaching section 4 of the Code of Practice for Trust Service Providers.

The statement is retrospective and case specific: it records historical findings against Certes (covering conduct from 2009 to 2016) and the Commission's decision not to impose a monetary penalty due to insolvency. It does not create ongoing obligations for other licensees but signals the standards of competence, due diligence and investment oversight the Commission expects of fiduciary and pension trustee licensees.

Applies to

fiduciary licensees, trust companies, pension trustees