Daniel Thomas faces £742,700 fine and ban over DB pension advice
Financial adviser Daniel Thomas faces a £742,700 fine and an industry ban for giving unauthorized defined benefit pension transfer advice to 53 clients. The FCA issued a Decision Notice following findings of reckless misconduct and destroyed client records.
Unqualified advice and destroyed files
Over a five-year period, Daniel Thomas advised 53 clients regarding 63 transfers out of defined benefit pension schemes through DPT Financial Solutions Limited, earning more than £173,000 in fees.
The Financial Conduct Authority found that he lacked the required Pension Transfer Specialist qualifications and permissions to conduct these regulated activities.
Thomas repeatedly misled clients, pension providers, and his principal oversight firm, Quilter Financial Services Ltd. He also destroyed client records and refused to cooperate with the investigation.
Affected customers included vulnerable members of the British Steel Pension Scheme.
Guaranteed benefits and tribunal appeal
Defined benefit schemes provide guaranteed retirement benefits that cannot be replicated elsewhere, meaning transfers are rarely in consumers' best interests.
“When you advise someone on their pension, you hold their future in your hands. Mr Thomas recklessly betrayed that responsibility,” Therese Chambers, FCA executive director of enforcement, said.
Thomas has referred the Decision Notice to the Upper Tribunal, meaning the findings remain provisional until the tribunal decides the case.
Costly delays in consumer redress
The British Steel scandal exposed severe weaknesses in appointed representative oversight that regulators still struggle to curb.
While the hefty fine signals zero tolerance, the multi-year timeline reveals persistent enforcement lag.
For affected pensioners, Upper Tribunal proceedings keep ultimate accountability painfully deferred.