The Financial Conduct Authority has banned advisers Mark Kelly and Patrick Gray from working in the financial services industry on the basis that they lack integrity after a string of failings, including bad investment advice and non-disclosure of fees.
Kelly provided financial services to UK customers under the name PCD Wealth and Pensions Management and Gray was one of his advisers.
PCD had arranged for more than 350 customers to be advised and invested nearly £24m of customers' funds in potentially unsuitable investments.
The FCA said between 2008 and 2010 Kelly had invested customers' pension funds in risky investments without their knowledge or consent.
The process was designed to prevent customers from discovering where their funds had been invested and without any regard to the suitability of the investments for the customers, the regulator said.
Kelly also received some money from product providers taken directly out of customers' investments, without their knowledge. He arranged for this to be paid directly into a bank account in his name.
Gray provided investment advice to at least five customers in the knowledge that he had no qualifications or training to do so. In one case he gave unsuitable advice to a customer to invest in an unregulated collective investment scheme (UCIS).
Gray also recklessly provided customers with misleading information in relation to costs and charges and arranged for customers to sign incomplete investment forms despite being aware of the risk that fees could later be added to the forms (and taken from customers' funds) without their knowledge, the FCA said.
In addition Gray gave customers pension reports containing false and misleading assurances that they would receive advice on their investments even though, from October 2009, Gray knew that funds were being invested without their consent or knowledge. He also misled the FCA in a compelled interview.
The FCA cannot fine either individual because they were not approved persons at the time of the misconduct. Further investigations are continuing.
FCA director of enforcement and market oversight Mark Steward said: "These two individuals misused pension funds, endangering the retirement incomes of hundreds of people. While further investigations continue, the FCA considers it necessary to prohibit them to help protect consumers."
