Adviser fined £117k and banned for UCIS mis-selling

A financial adviser has been banned and fined £117,330 for mis-selling unregulated collective investment schemes (UCIS).

Martin Rigney, the sole adviser at Topps Rogers Financial Management, had promoted and advised retail customers to invest in the products without assessing their eligibility to receive UCIS promotions or explaining why his recommendations were suitable. Under his watch, the firm advised 94 customers to invest over £12m in UCIS, and the FSA said customers invested a "substantial proportion" of their investment portfolios in the complex, high-risk products when they were unlikely to be suitable. One of his customers invested 89% of his portfolio in UCIS, while a retired couple were advi...