£24m Client losses see Active Wealth's Director (Reynolds) Banned

Darren Reynolds of Active Wealth (UK), was forced to step down as director of the company after 13 years when it emerged that £24m of clients' investments had been lost as a result of unregulated proceedings.

After a court hearing in the Manchester High Court Reynolds was disqualified as a board member on May 25. As a result Mr. Reynolds cannot be involved with any form of business without the consent of the court. In November 2017, the company which is based in the Midlands became the first to suspend pension transfer permits due tp customers' concerns that members of the British Steel Pension were receiving unsolicited advice to transfer. Investigations conducted by Insolvency service made it apparent that Mr. Reynolds did not have his company’s customers best interest in his dealings with them between December 2014 and December 2016.

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Soon after the revelations, The FCA ordered Greyfriars in November 2016 to stop adding new funds to its portfolio. It was also brought to light that Reynolds had made at least 8 inaccurate statements regarding his client’s attitude towards risk and investment. The FSCS Lifeboat Scheme concurs that a total of £12.5 million was paid out to Active Wealth’s clients However, according to the insolvency Service, the FSCS bill is capped at £ 50,000 and the total loss to customers is over £ 24m.

More details were revealed regarding Mr. Reynolds dealings which highlighted a £23m transaction from existing pensions to Portfolio Six, which is operated by Gray Flyers Asset Management and invests in high-risk corporate bonds, to at least 288 clients.