Abana is a Portuguese advisory firm. Its business model involved generating fees from advisors conducting activities in the UK.

The firm closed its UK business in December 2020 and we have been advised that the Portuguese business was closed in December 2021.

The company’s advisors were arranging investments in relation to pensions or discretionary fund managers (DFM’s).

Whilst the Financial Ombudsman Services (FOS) has upheld a number of complaints brought against the firm, Abana failed to settle those.

The cases reviewed assessed the advice by Mr Richard Fletcher, also trading as Richard Fletcher Associates or New Beginnings (Financial Solutions) Limited.

Mr Fletcher was not only linked to Abana Unipessoal Lda, but also to Joseph Oliver – Mediacao de Seguros LDA.

Pension Transfers

He arranged pension transfers to Avalon Investment Services Limited (Avalon SIPP) and Westerby Trustee Services Limited (Westerby SIPP) on behalf of both firms.

Those SIPP’s facilitated investments in a number of unregulated funds via bonds using ePortfolio Solutions:

•      the Brighton SPC – Kijani Commodity Fund (Kijani)

•      the Swiss Asset Micro Assist Inc Fund (SAMAIF)

·       TCA Global Credit and

·       Montello Real Estate Opportunity funds

Whilst Abana argued that they could not be held responsible for Mr Fletcher’s actions, the Ombudsman services found evidence that Abana were actively chasing adviser fees to be directly paid to them.

The Ombudsman concluded that Abana had largely failed to engage with the merits of this case, despite clear evidence of the relationship it had with Mr Fletcher and it concluded that Mr Fletcher was acting as an agent of Abana with its actual authority to deal in pensions and arrange SIPPs.

In permitting Mr Fletcher to conduct pensions business, Abana would have known, or at the very least should have known, that such activity was outside of its regulatory permissions which were restricted to insurance mediation activities.

It didn’t take reasonable care to organise and control its affairs responsibly and effectively, with adequate risk management systems.

In June 2015, clients were transferred to Abana FS Ltd, a firm set up by Kenda Bins, who previously was connected to Mr Fletcher through her work at New Beginnings (Financial Solutions) Limited.

Abana FS Ltd rebranded as KB WEALTH MANAGEMENT LTD in August 2015 and has since been dissolved in July 2019.

Unsuitable Pension Transfer or Investment Advice

If you had dealings with any of the firms or individuals named in this article and transferred your pension or invested money with them, you may have been given unsuitable advice. We strongly advise you should get your pension transactions reviewed by a claims expert.

Our team possess a deep knowledge of pension and investment compensation and welcome your call to find out if you too can make a successful claim. So, you’ve nothing to lose and everything to gain by calling us on 0333 358 0074.

This also applies to you if you have limited information.

We know how to do our job – let us get on with it and remove your worry about how to get compensation.

Get Claims Advice

Take advantage of our pension claim consulting service. We offer a free assessment of your situation to find out if you may be owed money redress or other compensation. Don’t delay because there are time limits to claim your compensation. The time to act is now!

Call us on 0333 358 0074 for an informal chat or email our compensation and claims experts at info@aclconsultancy.co.uk for a no obligation chat to explore your options and get a better understanding of how we work before deciding on the best course of action for your pension claim.

Low Fees, High Standards

If you have been cold called about a possible pension claim, had an unexpected doorstep visit or have found our website looking for a better deal, you are in good hands with us. ACL Consultancy Ltd have been in operation as a claims management company (CMC) for 10 years and have offered the lowest flat fee service in the industry since 2017.

We are able to work for a reasonable fee because we don’t buy your data from the companies involved in your claim and therefore don’t have to pay them in return. We pass these cost savings on to you. We have consistently demonstrated that high CMC fees are unjustified and don’t equate to better service or better outcomes for consumers.

Our success is your gain. We look forward to your call.