FCA fines AXA Wealth £1.8m for investment advice failings

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has fined AXA Wealth Services £1,802,200 for failing to ensure it gave suitable investment advice to its customers.

The FCA said the company's failings put a significant number of customers at risk of buying unsuitable products. Many of AXA's shortcomings only came to light during a review by the FCA. The failings relate to the sale of investment products between 15 September 2010 and 30 April 2012 made through bank branches. Over that period, AXA sold 37,000 investment products to 26,000 retail customers through AXA tied advisers based in the branches of Clydesdale Bank, Yorkshire Bank and the West Bromwich Building Society. Those customers, who tended to have low levels of experience in invest...