The regulator said Nucleus noted that the fees appeared not to be in line with typical transaction types and historic levels of fees and raised concerns as regards signed authorities it had obtained in connection with the approval of certain of these ‘ad hoc’ fees.
A few days later, on December 22, 7IM also contacted the FCA. The regulator said the platform sent it a “high-level review” of all fees paid to the firms.
7IM flagged certain ad hoc fees, deducted between July 2022 and November 2022, which it had concerns about.
Specifically, 7IM identified that four clients had been subjected to deductions of ad hoc fees by the firms, of £111,000, £48,000, £9,700 and £7,500 for each client.
A spokesperson for 7IM told FTAdviser: “As you can appreciate, it’s not appropriate for us to comment on an ongoing investigation, to which we are of course fully cooperating with as and when required, that is being conducted by the regulator.”
Nucleus also acknowledged its part in an ongoing investigation.
The platform told FTAdviser: “We can confirm that we’ve been in contact with the authorities regarding an isolated incident relating to the alleged financial impropriety that was the subject of the FCA’s recent supervisory notice concerning Nexus.
“We are supporting the investigation fully and as stated in the FCA’s notice, we raised concerns with regards to signed authorities we obtained in connection with the approval of certain ad hoc fees.
“We understand that this will be a worrying time for Nexus customers. We want to reassure them that the assets we hold on their behalf remain with us for safeguarding and are not affected in any way by Nexus’ administration process.”
The platform said it has a dedicated point of contact for anyone concerned and that any customer can view their statements online or via the Nucleus Go app at any time.
A spokesperson from Abrdn told FTAdviser it also has processes in place to check for excessive adviser charging on all its platforms and takes appropriate action where needed.
Nexus Independent Financial Advisers and Nexus Investment Managers are in no way associated, affiliated or have any connection with Nexus Global IFA Network or Blacktower Financial Management Group.
ruby.hinchliffe@ft.com
