Wealth managers and financial advisers have long enjoyed charging substantial fees for their services, often unnoticed by their affluent clientele. However, recent developments have brought these practices under intense scrutiny, signalling the end of an era for the old ways of the financial world.
The spotlight is now on the industry, as even the prominent wealth manager St. James’s Place, serving 900,000 clients, has yielded to pressure, announcing fee cuts and the abandonment of punitive exit charges. The move follows significant drops in the company’s share price and successful efforts by claims management firms to recover millions of pounds for clients who were charged for advice they never received. With the regulatory landscape evolving, the financial services sector is experiencing a significant transformation.

Original Article Source: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/consumer-affairs/party-over-money-grabbing-financial-advisers-charges/

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/investing/trouble-st-james-place/

Have You Lost Money After Receiving Advice From St. James’s Place?

If any of the following points apply to you, it is very likely that you have grounds for a claim:

• • Millions of pounds in financial adviser fees are being deducted from UK investors’ ISAs, pensions and investments every year – these fees could be refunded to you.
  • In most cases the adviser is simply not able to provide the full extent of the services that they promised. This means clients are paying substantial fees for absolutely nothing. Their commission-based advisers may not have given you the best advice.
  • Due to regulatory changes in 2012 nearly all investments and pensions have built in adviser charges. These are deducted every month / year to pay for an agreed level of ongoing service.
  • Each time the adviser fails to meet these service levels they are breaching the terms of their contractual arrangements and you could be due compensation.
  • Pensions: You were advised to switch your pension, Consolidate your pensions; Consolidation is rarely good advice but earns commission which is deducted from your pension, You were advised to stop one policy and start another, Their advice caused an unexpected tax bill.