You might be eligible for compensation
Berkeley Burke SIPP Administration Ltd has failed and was placed into administration on 18 September 2019. As a result, FSCS is accepting claims against this firm.
We're aware that independent financial advisers recommended many Berkeley Burke SIPP Administration Ltd customers to transfer their existing pensions into a Berkeley Burke SIPP. And that after the transfer, customers had their pension funds placed in high-risk, non-standard investments. Some of these have since become illiquid, which means they can’t currently be sold or traded.
For FSCS to be able to pay your claim we must prove that Berkeley Burke SIPP Administration Ltd failed in its due diligence - in other words, did Berkeley Burke SIPP Administration Ltd do certain checks on the non-standard investments that would hold their customers' pension funds, before accepting them into its SIPP investment portfolio? Did it make sure they were appropriate for a SIPP, and did it identify any potential issues with them? Also, if it did identify potential issues, did it tell the customer?
If you have already made a claim to the Financial Ombudsman Service, we will arrange for the information you sent to them to be sent directly to us.
If you think that you’ve got a claim against Berkeley Burke SIPP Administration Ltd, click the ‘Check if you can claim’ button to start the process. FSCS is free to use and you don’t need to use a representative to make a claim. If you bring your claim to us directly you will receive 100% of any compensation due.
See our investment compensation limits and their conditions on our Investments page.
You don't need a claims company or a solicitor to make a claim with us, but if you're not good with forms, consider using a friend or family member as a personal representative.
We'll need various documents to consider your claim. Our Before you make a claim page details what each type of claim requires.
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Latest updates
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23 Jul, 2020
Claims made against Berkeley Burke that relate to the firm’s due diligence have now all been moved to our claims processing teams for assessment.
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01 Apr, 2020
Our investigations have focussed on the levels of due diligence Berkeley Burke carried out before allowing customers to make specific investments under their pensions. From this, we've determined that protected claims exist against Berkeley Burke.
We'll shortly pass claims already submitted against Berkeley Burke to our claims processing teams for assessment. -
21 Jan, 2020
FSCS has been working closely with the administrators and has received the due diligence files from Berkeley Burke. Once we've examined the documents we'll know if it owes a civil liability to customers - in other words, would a UK court hold the failed firm responsible for a customer’s losses. When we know this we can announce whether there are valid claims against Berkeley Burke.
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18 Sep, 2019
To consider claims against a failed firm, FSCS must be satisfied that customers have first exhausted any right to claim against any connected firms that are still trading. FSCS understands that FCA authorised advisers may have recommended transfers of existing pensions or investments through a Berkeley Burke SIPP.
If you were advised by an FCA authorised adviser that’s still trading to transfer your existing pension or to invest through a Berkeley Burke SIPP, you need to complain to them before FSCS can consider your claim against Berkeley Burke SIPP Administration Ltd. If your adviser rejects your complaint, you can take your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS).
If you were advised by an FCA authorised adviser that’s now not trading to transfer your existing pension into or invest through a Berkeley Burke SIPP, you should submit a claim to FSCS against your financial adviser.
FSCS considers different factors when calculating losses on pension advice (a claim against your financial adviser) compared to SIPP investments (a claim against your SIPP provider).
This means you may be eligible to receive more compensation for any losses by claiming against your financial advisor than if you just made a claim against your SIPP provider.
You can check to see whether your financial adviser has ever been authorised by FCA by visiting its website.
Although FSCS is accepting claims against Berkeley Burke, claims will not immediately be passed to our claims processing teams for assessment. Firstly we need to establish whether there are protected claims against Berkeley Burke SIPP Administration. For this to happen we need to know that Berkeley Burke SIPP Administration Ltd owes a civil liability to customers that would enable them to sue the firm in court.
FSCS is working closely with the firm’s administrators and is investigating the practices of Berkeley Burke, specifically seeking to establish what levels of due diligence were carried out by the firm, prior to permitting customers to make specific investments under their pensions.