£2.45 million fine for Standard Life

As a few clients are aware Standard Life offered a cash fund called the Sterling Fund which we have used on some occasions for clients with Policies with the Insurance Company.

We understood this to be a pure cash fund and all their literature indicated this to be the case. However it turned out that the cash fund included mortgage backed securities which took a hit with the downturn in the U.S. property market.

As a result Standard Life applied a 5% reduction to the Sterling fund which I immediately protested about on behalf of my clients invested in the fund.

Standard Life accepted my protests and refunded the reduction. As a result of my complaint on this matter and no doubt other advisers, the FSA has today fined the firm £2.45 million for producing misleading materials.