Originally trading as Hoodless Brennan & Partners Ltd when it first started in 1995, the company went on to change its name to Beaufort Securities.
The company received its first fine in 2003 after not keeping the correct records, providing misleading & false information, not following the correct compliance procedures and not supervising corporate broking staff.
Comprehending Risk
The regulatory body fined the company in 2006 again for having weak selling practices, this mainly related to AIM stock being sold to advisory customers without them being made fully aware of the various risks involved with investing in small companies and penny shares.
The company also used the trading names Hoodless Brennan PLC, HB Corporate, HB Markets Limited, or Hoodless Brennan & Partners PLC.
Beaufort Self-Invested Personal Pension
Despite a name change to Beaufort Securities, the company found themselves in trouble again during the back half of 2016 and were forced to limit the activities that it was allowed to perform.
The company worked with a Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) provider called Gaudi Regulated Services Limited offering customers the ‘Beaufort SIPP’. Distribution of the discretionary service was done by the regulatory bodies and regulated Financial Advisers.
After Beaufort Securities had its activities limited Gaudi began liaising with advice firms to transfer to a preferred alternative. As a result, some Beaufort customers were transferred to the Share Centre.
Shortly after the United States Department of Justice placed charges on the company for its involvement in money laundering and securities fraud, UK regulators put Beaufort Asset Clearing Services Ltd into special administration – March 2018.
PwC were appointed as the administrators for Beaufort Asset Clearing Services (BACSL) and Beaufort Securities Limited (BSL). The company was also involved in discretionary fund management and stockbroking.
Compensation Claim
The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) declared Beaufort Securities Limited to be in default. Although some amounts of money have been put back into the SIPP accounts of their clients, this has not been the same experience for everyone. Many customers have not had their case fully investigated for counts of negligence with respect to the advisory stockbroking and discretionary fund management services they received.
Next Steps
Call us now for a phone or video consultation with one of our legal experts on 0800 041 8358 to find out if you are entitled to compensation, you may even be entitled to additional compensation if you have successfully claimed in the past.
