You might be eligible for compensation
FSCS recently made further payments to customers who had client money with Strand. Payments have been made to the customers of a further three SIPP providers and were made direct to those providers, the latest being Liberty SIPP on 1 August 2018.
The payments relate to client money only and not to assets. FSCS wrote to those customers on 25 June 2018 to let them know that their payment had been made.
For many customers this payment represents just the first stage in returning property to them.
See our investment compensation limits and their conditions on our Investments page.
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13 Nov, 2019
Claims made against Strand Capital Ltd have now all been moved to our claims processing teams for assessment. Decisions on these claims will be sent out shortly.
As we outlined in our previous update, we’re aware that FCA authorised advisers may have recommended customers invest with Strand Capital Ltd. 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). After adjudication from the FOS, you can make a claim with us.
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.
If you think you’ve got a claim, click the ‘Check you can claim’ button to start the process.
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24 Oct, 2019
In November, claims against Strand Capital Ltd will be passed to our claims processing team for assessment. This is because we’ve concluded that Strand Capital Ltd 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 Strand Capital Ltd. 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 Strand Capital Ltd).
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.
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19 Aug, 2019
FSCS is continuing its investigation into the practices of Strand to determine whether further claims exist in relation to the firm’s practices. We have been working with the administrators of the firm, Smith and Williamson, to get further documentation to help with our investigations.
FSCS understands that a number of Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)-authorised advisers may have recommended transfers of existing pensions or investments to Strand.
If you believe you were mis-advised by an FCA-authorised adviser that’s still trading to transfer your existing pension or to invest through Strand, you need to complain to them first. If your adviser rejects your complaint, you can take your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS).
If you believe you were mis-advised by an FCA-authorised adviser that’s no longer trading to transfer your existing pension into or invest through Strand, you should submit a claim to FSCS against your financial adviser and this claim will be assessed while we continue our investigation into Strand.
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08 Jul, 2019
The joint special administrators are continuing to return assets to Strand customers by transfers to new brokers chosen by Strand customers. In almost all instances, FSCS will meet the costs of the special administration on behalf of customers. These asset transfer costs will be settled directly with the special administrator, allowing the return of customers’ assets whole in due course.
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10 Apr, 2019
Following High Court approval on 2 April, a formal distribution plan of clients' custody assets has been agreed. This paves the way for customer assets to move to new brokers (subject to clients providing instructions to the Special Administrators). FSCS will meet the cost of the Special Administration on behalf of customers. You can read more on the Smith and Williamson website, here.
A number of Strand Capital Ltd customers have already been paid compensation
FSCS has already paid a number of customers of Strand for claims connected with the return of client money to customers. FSCS is working with the Joint Special Administrators to return the remaining client money. FSCS also anticipates that it will have a role, working with the Joint Special Administrators, in the return of assets to clients.
Clients who feel they have any other claim against Strand in connection with their dealings with Strand can make a claim through the FSCS online claims service.
FSCS has started paying eligible client money up to the £50,000 limit
FSCS has started paying eligible client money balances, up to the £50,000 limit. For customers who held their account under a Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) the payment will be made direct to the Self-Invested Personal Pension provider
Commonly asked questions
To qualify for compensation you must be eligible under the Financial Conduct Authority’s COMP rules which set out which types of claim are eligible for compensation, and limit how much compensation we are allowed to pay.
It is likely that claims from individuals and small businesses would be covered.
This means that FSCS should be able to provide compensation in nearly all Strand cases, subject to its limits.
Full details of who is eligible to benefit from FSCS protection can be found in subsection 4.2 of the COMP Rules.
If your claim is for the return of your property, client money and /or client assets you do not need to do anything in respect of FSCS – we will seek to pay compensation automatically, after you have confirmed your agreement with the Joint Special Administrators.
The Joint Special Administrators will issue instructions in respect of the return of assets when they are ready to begin that process. There are a number of steps that the Joint Special Administrators will have to take before assets can be returned. As this process begins, a much clearer timetable will emerge. We will publish details of the expected timescales in the coming months.
If you want to make any other type of claim, for example a negligence or mismanagement claim in respect of losses over and above those covered by the return of cash and assets, you should make that directly with FSCS using the online claims service.
- Client Money is the cash held for you within your portfolio. Client money can arise, for example, from cash that customers have paid to the firm that has yet to be invested, or from dividends or other income received in relation to their assets.
- Client Assets are the individual stocks, shares and other investments that form the rest of your portfolio.
FSCS has already paid £5.9m to 1405 Strand Capital Ltd customers in respect of their client cash balance. Payments so far have been made to customer’s Self-Invested Personal Pension provider. FSCS is still working on returning client money to some remaining customers.
FSCS is likely to have a role in the return of customer assets.
As well as providing compensation, to the extent that FSCS receives a distribution from the insolvent estate of Strand, it will pass on any recoveries it receives in excess of the compensation we have paid out so that claimants are not worse off as a result of having first accepted FSCS compensation.
The FSCS protection limit is £50,000 per eligible customer. This limit would apply to the combined total of return of funds claims and any other claim type. Find out more about FSCS investment limits.
FSCS is aware that there are a number of Customers of Strand Capital Ltd with client money balances of more that £50,000.
As well as providing compensation, FSCS expects to receive a distribution from the estate of Strand. If your balance is more than £50,000, FSCS will pass on any recoveries it receives in excess of the compensation we have paid out, so that claimants are not worse off as a result of having first accepted FSCS compensation.
FSCS has already paid the majority of eligible client money claims and is looking to complete the remainder soon. We understand that the Joint Special Administrators are aiming to commence returning assets towards the end of 2018 and into 2019, but the timing is dependent on the Joint Special Administrators gaining Creditors’ Committee and court approval of the Distribution Plan.