GPC SIPP Ltd, formerly Guardian Pension Consultants Ltd

Failed 17 February 2020

FRN: 463717

You might be eligible for compensation

CHECK IF YOU CAN CLAIM

GPC SIPP Ltd (GPC) was placed into administration on 11 June 2019.

FSCS is accepting claims against this firm.

We’re aware that many GPC SIPP Ltd customers were advised by independent financial advisers to transfer existing pensions into the GPC SIPP.  

After the pension transfer, customers had their pension funds placed in high risk, non-standard investments. Some of these have since become illiquid, which means they can’t currently be sold or traded.

For FSCS to be able to pay your claim we must prove that GPC failed in its due diligence - in other words, did it do certain checks on the non-standard investments that would hold its customers' pension funds, before accepting them into its SIPP investment portfolio? Did it make sure they were appropriate for a SIPP, and did it identify any potential issues with them? Also, if it did identify potential issues, did it tell the customer?

There are currently civil claims cases against SIPP operators underway in the High Court, regarding their due diligence requirements. The outcome of these court cases will affect whether we can pay a claim against SIPP operators like GPC.

We’ve already assessed and paid several customer claims against authorised IFAs declared in default by FSCS, in relation to advice they received to transfer their pension into a GPC SIPP.

If you think that you’ve got a claim against GPC, 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.

  • 04 Dec, 2019

    FSCS has now finished its investigations into the practices of GPC SIPP Ltd (GPC). They focussed on the levels of due diligence GPC carried out before allowing customers to make specific investments under their pensions. 

    FSCS has determined that valid claims exist against GPC.

    As a result, claims made against GPC relating to the firm’s due diligence have now been moved to our claims processing teams for assessment.

  • 21 Oct, 2019

    The sale of the GPC SIPP Ltd book (its assets & customers) to Hartley Pensions Ltd took place on 12 August 2019. Self Invested Personal Pensions (“SIPPs”) and Small Self Administered Schemes (“SSASs”) held via the trustee company, Guardian Pension Trustees Ltd, have now been successfully transferred to Hartley Pensions Ltd.

    Hartley and the administrators of GPC do not believe customers will experience any interruption to the services previously provided by GPC.

    If you think you have a claim against GPC SIPP, please click the ‘Check if you can claim’ button at the top of the page.

  • 18 Jul, 2019

    FSCS is working with GPC’s administrators to gather as much documentation as possible in relation to the due diligence GPC carried out in allowing customers to make specific investments under their pensions.

    Once we've received these documents we'll be in a position to investigate the firm’s practices and reach a view on whether there were any due diligence failings.

     

  • 17 Jun, 2019

    If you already have a claim with the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), you don’t need to take any action at the moment. The FOS will be in touch with you shortly to ask permission to transfer your claim documents to FSCS. When we receive your file, we’ll contact you directly to ask you to submit your claim. You won’t need to submit all the original documentation again.

     

  • 12 Jun, 2019

    To consider claims against a failed firm, FSCS must be satisfied that customers have first exhausted any right to claim against any connected firms that are still trading. FSCS understands that FCA authorised advisers may have recommended transfers of existing pensions or investments through a GPC SIPP.

    If you were advised by an FCA authorised adviser that’s still trading to transfer your existing pension or to invest through a GPC SIPP, you need to complain to them before FSCS can consider your claim against GPC. If your adviser rejects your complaint, you can take your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS).

    If you were advised by an FCA authorised adviser that’s now not trading to transfer your existing pension into or invest through a GPC SIPP, you should firstly submit a claim to FSCS against your financial adviser.

    FSCS considers different factors when calculating losses on pension advice (a claim against your financial adviser) compared to SIPP investments (a claim against your SIPP provider). This means you may be eligible to receive more compensation for any losses by claiming against your financial advisor than if you just made a claim against your SIPP provider.

    You can check to see whether your financial adviser has ever been authorised by FCA by visiting its website.

    Although FSCS is accepting claims against GPC SIPP Ltd, claims will not immediately be passed to our claims processing teams for assessment. Firstly we need to establish whether there are protected claims against GPC. For this to happen we need to know that GPC owes a civil liability to customers that would enable them to sue the firm in court.

    FSCS is working closely with the firm’s administrators and is investigating the practices of GPC, specifically seeking to establish what levels of due diligence were carried out by the firm, prior to permitting customers to make specific investments under their pensions.

     

FSCS

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