If Pi Financial Ltd (or one of its trading names, including Burlington Financial Solutions, Brian
Harkins Financial Services, Beaumont Wealth Management or A K Wealth) arranged a pension transfer or SIPP
investment for you, particularly into a high-risk or unregulated product such as Ethical Forestry, you may
have grounds to complain, even if you were asked to sign paperwork describing the transaction as
“execution-only”.
Because Pi Financial Ltd is still trading, this is not an FSCS case. The route is a formal complaint to
the firm directly, with a referral to the Financial Ombudsman Service available if the complaint is
rejected or not resolved within the applicable time limit. A published Ombudsman decision already confirms
that this type of complaint against Pi Financial Ltd can succeed.
Background
Pi Financial Ltd (FRN 186419, company number 03556277) is an FCA-authorised financial adviser based in
Shrewsbury. It was incorporated on 27 April 1998, originally as Dixon Sutcliffe & Co Ltd, and has been
authorised by the FCA since 1 December 2001. Unlike the firms covered on most of this website, Pi
Financial Ltd remains active and trading, so it has not failed and the Financial Services Compensation
Scheme does not apply. Instead, a valid complaint against the firm is made directly to Pi Financial and, if
unresolved, can be referred to the Financial Ombudsman Service.
Pi Financial Ltd operates a network of financial advisers trading under a number of different names
across the country, including Burlington Financial Solutions, Brian Harkins Financial Services, Beaumont
Wealth Management and A K Wealth. Previous trading names have included Albemarle and Co, Adswood Finance,
Absolute Finance and 2 Plus Financial Planning.
Company timeline
- 27 April 1998: Incorporated as Dixon Sutcliffe & Co Ltd.
- 4 August 2004: Renamed Pi Financial Ltd on the FCA register.
- 1 December 2001: FCA authorisation took effect.
- 3 October 2011: Keith David Hansell appointed a director; he remains a director and
holds the current FCA senior management function SMF3 Executive Director. - 1 January 2023: Toni Roxanna Sheen, company secretary since 2006, also appointed a
director. - 6 October 2023: Ben Howard Wright appointed a director.
- Pi Financial Ltd remains an active company and an authorised firm on the FCA register.
Who was involved
Companies House records the following current officers of Pi Financial Ltd:
- Timothy Edward Sutcliffe, director since incorporation on 27 April 1998.
- Keith David Hansell, director since 3 October 2011. Holds FCA controlled function
SMF3 Executive Director (current, from 9 December 2019) and previously held CF1 Director (2012 to 2019). - Toni Roxanna Sheen, company secretary since 2006 and director since 1 January 2023.
- Ben Howard Wright, director since 6 October 2023.
Other individuals recorded on the FCA register in connection with Pi Financial Ltd include advisers
holding CF30 Customer and appointed-representative controlled functions across the firm’s various trading
names.
The published Financial Ombudsman decision
In a published decision (reference DRN7666898), the Financial Ombudsman Service upheld a complaint
against Pi Financial Ltd concerning a consumer who transferred approximately £36,800 from existing pensions
into a SIPP and invested nearly £36,000 of it in
Ethical Forestry, an unregulated overseas
tree plantation scheme.
The firm argued that it had acted on an execution-only basis and had not provided investment advice. The
Ombudsman disagreed, concluding that the consumer was not a genuine execution-only investor and that the
firm had failed to act in her best interests. The Ombudsman described Ethical Forestry as a high-risk,
unregulated and illiquid overseas investment, and found that the firm should either have refused to proceed
on an execution-only basis or established whether the transaction was appropriate for the consumer.
Compensation was directed at placing the investor as closely as possible into the position she would have
occupied had her original pensions not been transferred.
The decision is a reminder that signing an “execution-only” form does not automatically prevent a
successful complaint where a firm ought to have questioned or refused an unsuitable transaction.
Claim My Loss can look into how your pension transfer or investment through Pi Financial Ltd (or any of
its trading names) came about, whether the advice or execution-only paperwork was appropriate for your
circumstances, and whether a complaint to the firm, or a referral to the Financial Ombudsman Service, is
likely to succeed.
Talk to us for a free, no obligation initial assessment. If you decide to go ahead, we act on a no win,
no fee basis.
NB: Each claim is assessed on its own facts. Compensation is not guaranteed and eligibility
requirements and time limits apply.
Sources: Financial Conduct Authority Financial Services Register (FRN 186419);
Companies House (company number 03556277); Financial Ombudsman Service published decision DRN7666898.
