IFA fined £60k and banned for unsuitable UCIS sales

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has fined an independent financial adviser £60,000 for the unsuitable sales of Unregulated Collective Investment Schemes (UCIS) and other non-mainstream investments.

Patrick Francis O'Donnell, of P3 Wealth Management Limited, has also been banned from performing any function in relation to any regulated activity in the financial services industry. Meanwhile his firm, where he was sole director and the only approved person, has also had its permission to carry on regulated activities cancelled. Tom Spender, head of retail enforcement at the FSA, said: "O'Donnell had absolutely no understanding of the regulatory restrictions in place which prohibit advisers from selling UCIS to the vast majority of UK retail investors. "He also completely failed ...