HORIZON STOCKBROKING
If you have lost money by investing in the Discretionary Fund Manager (DFM) Horizon Stockbroking (FRN) 604515, you may be entitled to financial compensation.
Horizon Stockbroking was forced to provide compensation for not acting in the best interest of their clients’ prior to going into liquidation. The company has been ruled against by the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) in six out of six cases. The now closed down DFM did not act in its clients’ best interests by letting them make investments that were deemed to be high risk.
Introducers That Were Unregulated
Clients were sold into an investment by introducer firms that were unregulated. While initial advice to switch pensions may have come from regulated Independent Financial Adviser (IFA) companies, the subsequent applications were often completed by unregulated third parties.
After the pension was transferred into a self-invested personal pension (SIPP), the application form was completed by a third party that was unregulated. The application form was titled ‘Understanding and Experience’ and included investments such as options, futures, spread betting, FX, CFDs, shares etc.
Inappropriate Investments
The majority of clients were subject to the influence of introducers that were unregulated and Horizon Stockbroking performed independent assessments of each clients’ application. The company was also responsible for determining if their clients had any experience in making investments themselves or if they possessed the necessary knowledge of the types of investments that were selected.
The FOS’s opinion was that Horizon Stockbroking should not have approved their client application forms without firstly assessing their experience and level of knowledge. By not doing this, they caused their clients to suffer financially.
On the 15 May 2018 a petition to have the company wound up was successfully filed.
Reach Out For Help
If you invested with Horizon Stockbroking and have concerns about how they performed you should have all of your transactions with the company reviewed.
If it is found to be the case that the company didn’t follow the regulations and rules correctly you may be entitled to compensation.
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.
Company background (public record)
The company was incorporated at Companies House on 7 March 2013 under company number 08434634. Its status at Companies House is recorded as dissolved.
Registered office: 29 New Walk, Leicester, LE1 6TE.
Nature of business (SIC): 66220.
Company timeline (public record)
Key dated events for this firm, drawn from public records. Each entry shows its source.
| Date | Event | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 07 Mar 2013 | Company incorporated | Companies House |
| 07 Mar 2013 | Gerard Sean Carr appointed director | Companies House |
| 19 May 2014 | David Carr appointed director | Companies House |
| 19 May 2014 | Gerard Sean Carr resigned as director | Companies House |
| 19 May 2014 | Karl Alexander Hughes appointed director | Companies House |
| 19 May 2014 | Kyriacos Sotiris Kangellaris appointed director | Companies House |
| 19 May 2014 | Andrew Oliver Mulligan appointed director | Companies House |
| 09 Jun 2014 | Karl Alexander Hughes approved by the FCA at the firm | FCA Register |
| 09 Jun 2014 | Cerri-Anne Sheila Quinton approved by the FCA at the firm | FCA Register |
| 09 Jun 2014 | Kyriacos Sotiris Kangellaris approved by the FCA at the firm | FCA Register |
| 08 Feb 2017 | Richard Charles Curr approved by the FCA at the firm | FCA Register |
| 24 Mar 2017 | Jamie Thomas Smith approved by the FCA at the firm | FCA Register |
| 25 May 2017 | Deirdre Rooney approved by the FCA at the firm | FCA Register |
| 30 Jun 2017 | Vinco Wealth Management Ltd ceased as appointed representative | FCA Register |
| 13 Jul 2017 | Kyriacos Sotiris Kangellaris resigned as director | Companies House |
| 04 Sep 2017 | Geoffrey Walsh appointed director | Companies House |
| 25 Sep 2017 | Geoffrey Walsh resigned as director | Companies House |
| 14 Dec 2017 | Timothy Francis Stewart approved by the FCA at the firm | FCA Register |
| 03 Jan 2018 | Ben Harold Timms resigned as director | Companies House |
| 05 Jul 2018 | Company wound up (creditors’ voluntary liquidation) | Companies House |
| 05 Jul 2018 | Insolvency practitioner appointed: John Phillip Walter Harlow | Companies House |
| 26 Feb 2019 | FCA status recorded as: No longer authorised | FCA Register |
| 30 Jul 2019 | FSCS update: FSCS is accepting claims against Horizon Stockbroking Limited | FSCS |
| 25 Oct 2019 | FSCS update: In November, claims against Horizon Stockbroking Ltd will be passed to our claims processing team for assessment | FSCS |
| 08 Nov 2019 | FSCS update: We have now passed claims against Horizon Stockbroking Ltd to our claims processing team for assessment | FSCS |
| 17 Dec 2019 | Declared in default by the FSCS | FSCS |
| 07 Mar 2024 | Company dissolved | Companies House |
| 07 Mar 2024 | Company due to be dissolved (creditors’ voluntary liquidation) | Companies House |
Focused on the firm’s early history and the events leading up to and following its failure. 19 routine entries from its active years are omitted.
Who was involved?
The following individuals are listed on public records in connection with the firm. These are matters of public record only and their inclusion does not imply any wrongdoing by any named person.
- Karl Alexander Hughes. Listed on the FCA Register as having held CF3 Chief Executive (09/06/2014 to 30/06/2015), CF1 Director (09/06/2014 to 30/06/2015) at the firm.
- Jamie Thomas Smith. Listed on the FCA Register as having held CF30 Customer (24/03/2017 to 30/06/2017), CF1 Director (AR) (24/03/2017 to 30/06/2017) at the firm.
- Timothy Francis Stewart. Listed on the FCA Register as having held CF11 Money Laundering Reporting (14/12/2017 to 29/12/2017), CF10 Compliance Oversight (14/12/2017 to 29/12/2017) at the firm.
- Cerri-Anne Sheila Quinton. Listed on the FCA Register as having held CF11 Money Laundering Reporting (09/06/2014 to 08/05/2015), CF10 Compliance Oversight (09/06/2014 to 08/05/2015) at the firm.
- Mark Stephen Vincent. Listed on the FCA Register as having held CF30 Customer (01/04/2016 to 30/06/2017), CF1 Director (AR) (01/04/2016 to 30/06/2017) at the firm.
- Richard Charles Curr. Listed on the FCA Register as having held CF30 Customer (27/06/2017 to 17/07/2017) at the firm.
- Dafydd Davies. Listed on the FCA Register as having held CF30 Customer (29/04/2016 to 09/06/2017) at the firm.
- Ben Harold Timms. Listed on the FCA Register as having held CF2 Non Executive Director (02/06/2016 to 05/01/2018) at the firm.
- Robert Adam Marler. Listed on the FCA Register as having held CF30 Customer (26/07/2016 to 26/02/2019) at the firm.
- Richard Pert. Listed on the FCA Register as having held CF30 Customer (19/10/2016 to 16/06/2017) at the firm.
Appointed Representatives and Agents
While it was authorised, the firm acted as principal for the following appointed representatives. An appointed representative carries on regulated business under the responsibility of its principal, so their conduct can be relevant to a claim.
| Appointed representative | Reference | Effective from | Ended |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marc Sharpe (Wealth) Limited | FRN 736188 | 10/02/2016 | 15/07/2016 |
| Vinco Wealth Management Ltd | FRN 610166 | 22/03/2016 | 30/06/2017 |
Review page sources: FCA Register (FRN 604515) · Companies House (08434634) · FSCS. Public records, provided for transparency.
