The FCA has banned Frank Breuer from working in UK financial services and fined him £755,000 for repeatedly acting without integrity and putting customers at risk for personal financial gain.
Mr Breuer was the joint owner and sole director of Bluesky Wealth Management Limited (Bluesky), which provided advice on investments and pensions. Although authorised to advise on defined benefit (DB) pension transfers, the firm did not have the appropriate professional insurance in place from April 2019. This meant Mr Breuer’s customers were at risk of not receiving compensation if something went wrong.
Mr Breuer carried out at least 16 DB pension transfers while knowing he was uninsured. He also repeatedly misled the FCA about the firm’s insurance position.
In October 2019, Mr Breuer agreed to restrictions introduced by the FCA to protect customers and the firm’s assets. Mr Breuer ignored these restrictions and stripped the firm’s assets by paying himself large dividends, taking personal loans and moving money through connected accounts. By September 2020, Mr Breuer knew that the FCA had concerns about the suitability of Bluesky’s DB advice and from June 2022 onwards, the Financial Ombudsman Service[2] upheld several complaints against Bluesky on the DB advice Mr Breuer had given. He then placed Bluesky into an insolvency process in April 2023, leaving substantial customer liabilities of at least £214,772.88 to be met by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).
Therese Chambers, joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight, said:
'Mr Breuer sought to evade paying compensation due to customers as a result of his own bad pension advice and feathered his own nest in the process, stripping substantial assets from his firm. He repeatedly misled the FCA and flouted FCA restrictions. He’s not fit to work in financial services.'
Anyone who has been affected by Mr Breuer’s advice should visit the FSCS website[3] to check whether they’re eligible for compensation.
Notes to editors
- Final Notice: Frank Breuer (PDF)[4].
- The FSCS redress scheme is still open to claims[3] and to date, £214,772.88 has been paid to affected customers.
- From June 2022 onwards, the Financial Ombudsman Service upheld complaints against Bluesky on DB transfer advice that Mr Breuer had given. In January 2023, the FCA was notified that Bluesky had failed to pay an Ombudsman award.
- Mr Breuer’s total financial penalty is £755,000 which includes disgorgement of financial benefit and interest.
- Mr Breuer breached Statement of Principle 1 (APER) and Individual Conduct Rule 1 (ICR 1) by acting without integrity.
- A DB pension provides a guaranteed retirement income. FCA rules require strong justification before advising a customer to transfer out of a DB pension scheme.