Evelyn Partners brought in for pension group administration
Rowanmoor Personal Pensions has appointed administrators from Evelyn Partners. The move comes after it sought professional advice about liabilities arising from existing and potential complaints, leading directors to determine that the company was insolvent and should be placed into administration.
Self-invested personal pension (SIPP) operator Rowanmoor Personal Pensions Limited (RPPL) has entered administration. The group operates around 4,800 pensions, overseeing assets of £1.5 billion.
The firm is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), who insisted that clients of the RPPL would not have their pension assets impacted by the news, as the pension scheme assets (including cash) are held by Rowanmoor Trustees Limited (RTL), which has not entered administration. The FCA added that RPPL’s clients should remain alert to the possibility of fraud, and that if they are cold called by someone claiming to be from RPPL, or any other company claiming to be involved in the administration they should end the call and contact authorities.
In the meantime, professionals from business advisory firm Evelyn Partners will continue operating RPPL’s pension schemes. The work of joint administrators Adam Stephens and Chris Allen meaning there will be no immediate changes to the way the pension is handled, and the administrators will also continue to accept regular or ad hoc pension contributions.
The FCA stated that they are in regular contact with the administrators who are looking at the options available, including the transfer of RPPL’s clients to another FCA regulated SIPP operator which, they have said, is the option “likely to result in the least disruption to clients”. If this is not possible, the administrators will pursue other options aimed at transferring SIPPs, or returning pension assets back to clients.
A joint statement from Stephens and Allen said, “We are in discussions with a potential purchaser and we hope to proceed quickly, with the intention of completing a sale within a short timeframe. It is anticipated that any such sale will involve the transfer of responsibility to operate and managed SIPPs and FPTs.”
Until recently, Evelyn Partners was known as Tilney Smith & Williamson. The professional services business rebranded earlier in 2022, with its leaders claiming the new name reflected the company's "single purpose". The new name is drawn from Evelyn Gardens, the 1893 London address of one of the founders of the business. The announcement came less than two years after the firms Tilney and Smith & Williamson merged in a deal creating the third-largest UK wealth manager when ranked by revenues.