Greyfriars Asset Management LLP

Failed 29 April 2020

FRN: 229285

You might be eligible for compensation

Greyfriars Asset Management (Greyfriars) was placed into administration in October 2018.

FSCS began accepting claims against Greyfriars in February 2019.

Greyfriars offered Discretionary Fund Management (DFM) services to its clients. Claims submitted to FSCS against Greyfriars typically relate to a number of investment portfolios offered by Greyfriars. The portfolios were numbered one to six. The FCA had previously expressed concerns about Greyfriars’ Portfolio Six offering in particular.

In 2016 the FCA instructed Greyfriars to stop accepting any new money into the Greyfriars Asset Management Portfolio Six on a permanent basis.

FSCS is also accepting and is currently assessing claims against independent financial advisers (IFAs), which have already been declared in default by FSCS, who advised their clients to invest through Greyfriars.

Many of these customers were advised by IFAs to transfer their existing pensions into SIPPs made up of high risk, non-standard investments, many of which have now become illiquid, which means they can’t currently be sold or traded.

If you think that you’ve got a claim, click the ‘Check if you can claim’ button to start the process.

FSCS is free to use and you don’t need to use a representative to make a claim. If you claim with us directly you will receive 100% of any compensation due.

See our investment compensation limits and their conditions on our Investments page.

 

  • 22 Sep, 2020

    Our legal team has finished its review of Greyfriars SIPP. This completes the FSCS investigation into Greyfriars SIPP. We've moved claims to our assessment teams for consideration.

  • 20 Aug, 2020

    Our legal team is still looking at issues in connection with Greyfriars SIPP. We expect to finish this work by the end of August and claims will then be moved to our assessment teams for consideration.

  • 29 May, 2020

    FSCS’s investigations into Greyfriars Asset Management LLP and specific SIPP issues are continuing. The process has moved to our legal team, who are looking at Greyfriars' activities to identify the specific regulatory breaches that may have occurred.

    We'll provide a further update in due course.

  • 03 Apr, 2020

    We’ve finished our investigation into Greyfriars regarding the discretionary fund manager (DFM) service it provided. So we've moved claims against it to our claims processing teams for assessment. We've sent some decisions to customers and this process is continuing.

    But during the investigation, it was identified that some claims related to SIPP issues, and not just the DFM service provided by Greyfriars.

    We're investigating these claims further, along with any SIPP-specific claims already received. We're aiming to determine what action the firm took and whether customers may be owed compensation.

    We’re aware that FCA-authorised advisers may have recommended customers invest with Greyfriars Asset Management LLP.  Or they may have recommended transferring existing pensions or investments through a self-invested personal pension (SIPP). 

    If this applies to you and the adviser is still trading, you need to complain to that adviser. If the adviser rejects the complaint, you can take your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). Following adjudication from the FOS, you can make a claim to FSCS against Greyfriars Asset Management LLP.

    However, if the advice came from an FCA-authorised adviser that’s now not trading, you should first submit a claim to FSCS against the financial adviser.

    If you think you’ve got a claim, click the ‘Check you can claim’ button to start the process.

  • 13 Nov, 2019

    We’ve finished our investigation into Greyfriars, and claims against it have been moved to our claims processing teams for assessment. Decisions on these claims will be sent out shortly.

    As outlined in our previous update, we’re aware that FCA authorised advisers may have recommended customers invest with Greyfriars Asset Management LLP, or recommended transferring existing pensions or investments through a self-invested personal pension (SIPP). 

    If this applies to you and the adviser is still trading, you need to complain to that adviser. If the adviser rejects the complaint, you can take your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). Following adjudication from the FOS, you can make a claim to FSCS against Greyfriars Asset Management LLP. 

    However, if the advice came from an FCA authorised adviser that’s now not trading, you should first submit a claim to FSCS against the financial adviser.

    If you think you’ve got a claim, click the ‘Check you can claim’ button to start the process.

  • 24 Oct, 2019

    In November, claims against Greyfriars Asset Management will be passed to our claims processing team for assessment. This is because we’ve concluded that Greyfriars Asset Management may owe a civil liability to its customers. Or, in other words, that there’s the potential the firm could be sued in court.

    We’re currently finalising our approach to how we’ll deal with these claims. Each claim will need to be considered individually to see if compensation is due.

    To consider claims against a failed firm, we’ve got to be sure that customers have first tried every approach to claim against any connected firm that's still trading, and have been unsuccessful.

    We’re aware that FCA authorised advisers may have recommended customers invest with Greyfriars Asset Management. Or they may have recommended transferring existing pensions or investments through a self-invested personal pension (SIPP).  

    If this applies to you and the adviser is still trading, you need to complain to that adviser.  If the adviser rejects the complaint, you can take your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). 

    If, however, the advice came from an FCA authorised adviser that’s now not trading, you should firstly submit a claim to FSCS against the financial adviser.

    FSCS considers different factors when calculating losses on pension advice (a claim against financial advisers) compared to discretionary fund manager investments (a claim against discretionary fund managers, in this case Greyfriars Asset Management).

    This means you may be eligible to receive more compensation for any losses by claiming against your financial adviser than if you just made a claim against your discretionary fund manager.

    If you think you’ve got a claim, click the 'Check you can claim' button to start the process.

  • 12 Aug, 2019

    Investigations into whether Greyfriars owes a civil liability to customers are ongoing.

    Further to our previous update, FSCS has been looking at information provided by the firm’s Insolvency Partner, Smith & Williamson, together with additional material provided by the Financial Conduct Authority to determine whether customers have valid (protected) claims against Greyfriars.

    Concerns regarding the firm’s DFM service provided to customers are still being considered and we aim to have concluded our investigations by October 2019.

  • 22 May, 2019

    Although FSCS is accepting claims against Greyfriars, claims haven't yet been passed to the claims teams for assessment. Firstly we need to establish whether there are protected claims against Greyfriars. For this to happen we need to know that Greyfriars owes a civil liability to customers that would enable them to sue the firm in court.

    FSCS has been working closely with the firm's insolvency practitioner, Smith & Williamson in order to obtain client files and other documentation that will help us to reach a view on whether there are protected claims against Greyfriars.

    FSCS is currently considering the practices of the firm to establish whether there is evidence of systemic failings in the way Greyfriars dealt with its clients.

     

FSCS

If you've any questions, contact us on the number below, or fill in a form on our Contact us page.