The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has imposed a severe reprimand and a financial penalty against Richard Jones in respect of misconduct relating to the actuarial advisory services he provided to Coats Group, the business formerly known as Guinness Peat Group (GPG).
The FRC - which acts as the independent, investigative and disciplinary body for actuaries in the UK - said that, during the period from September 2005 to March 2012, Jones provided ongoing actuarial advice to GPG, while also advising individual GPG executives in their capacity as trustees of three defined pension schemes of subsidiary companies within GPG, "despite the obvious conflicts of interest that arose".
Over the same period, the FRC said that Jones received information and documents that were confidential to the trustee bodies of the relevant pension schemes and without ensuring that disclosure to him had been properly authorised.
The FRC added that Jones' conduct was "contrary to the impartiality and compliance principles of the Actuaries' Code".
The body said it had issued Jones with a financial penalty of £100,000 as part of its sanctions, a fine which was reduced to £65,000 for mitigation and settlement.
The FRC said the sanctions imposed took into account that Jones' conduct was "not dishonest and that he did not benefit financially as a result". It also took into account Jones' good disciplinary record, his contrition for the misconduct and his full cooperation during the course of the investigation.
The settlement agreement was reached in October last year and published today following a four-year investigation that began in July 2016. Further details about the settlement agreement and the facts of the case are available on the FRC's website.
Richard Jones is currently managing director at Stoneport Pensions, the consolidator that was launched by Punter Southall Group at the end of last year.
The Punter Southall Group said: "We note the announcement today by the FRC of the settlement agreement with our colleague Richard Jones. The group also notes that the matters this relates to took place between 2005 and 2012, within Punter Southall Limited, prior to our sale of the business three years ago.
"It is clear from the settlement agreement that Jones did not act dishonestly nor did he stand to gain any benefit (financial or otherwise) from his actions and never sought any such benefit. Furthermore, the agreement recognises that there is no evidence to suggest that his actions caused the members of the schemes involved any direct loss."
Punter Southall Group chairman Angus Samuels added: "Richard has accepted this settlement agreement and I have every confidence that, as a consummate professional of real integrity, he will be able to remediate past conduct concerns and continue to develop his career with us. The board of Punter Southall Group has assured Richard of its full support and we look forward to continuing to work with him for many years to come."
The FRC's investigation follows a separate probe by The Pensions Regulator into Coats and Guinness Peat that started in 2013 and included the issuance of warning notices in 2013 and 2014 before a settlement was reached in 2016.
