Comedy of errors at Capita and Arch - so why must IFAs pay?

ARCH CRU

Laura Miller
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Today's Financial Services Authority decision notice against Arch Financial Products (AFP), Robin Farrell, AFP's chief executive, and Robert Addison, a senior partner and former compliance officer at AFP, reads like a how to guide of how not to run an investment.

In the FSA's opinion, - and all the other parties are disputing the charges - AFP pursued an investment strategy which resulted in significant liquidity risks for funds that were advertised as "low risk" or "cautious". Further, the FSA believes that AFP and Farrell failed to ensure that the funds aimed to provide a prudent spread of risk. Also, AFP was in a position of trust and needed to demonstrate fair management of conflicts of interest - in the FSA's opinion, AFP failed to do so, not least in the covert share sale that netted Farrell £492,000 personally. Given their roles, man...

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