Advisers off the hook for ARM and Rockingham claims

The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) will not compensate investors bringing claims against Rockingham Independent for allegedly negligent advice - meaning there will be no additional levy for advisers.

Rockingham was fined £35,000 by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) in September 2011 for exposing about 200 elderly clients to the ARM bonds, which never achieved regulatory approval. However in a statement, the FSCS said: "In order to pay compensation, it must be satisfied that a firm owes a civil liability in respect of a claim. "This means the claimant would have been likely to win a court case against Rockingham if it was still trading. "While we accept that Rockingham may potentially have given bad investment advice to some investors in respect of ARM investments, we do no...