Thanks again to everyone who attended the client webinars and submitted questions in advance and during the live Q&A. We tried to get through as many questions as we could within the time we had, but as promised, here’s a full rundown of the FAQs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is my portfolio value less than I was expecting?
We now know that not all of the expected assets of the Interim Distribution moved as planned, and that the full percentage transferred cannot yet be confirmed. We are working with the Joint Special Administrators (JSAs) to determine the reasons for this. It’s important to remember that any assets that did not transfer over as part of the Interim Distribution remain in safe custody at IBP under the control of the JSAs, and will be transferred over as part of the future distribution still to be arranged.
How long will it take to return the remaining assets and cash held at IBP?
Once the JSAs have completed the Interim Distribution for IBPs’ other clients, we understand they will call a Creditors Committee to vote on the next steps. The likelihood is that the JSAs will carry out a ‘follow up’ Interim Distribution to resolve the transfers that didn’t take place, before setting the legal process in motion.
Why is Teneo holding onto the remaining assets and the cash?
In line with insolvency legislation, the JSAs at Teneo have retained the smaller portion to cover their costs and the amount of the dual claim on an element of the cash by one of IBPs institutional clients.
Is there still confidence that FSCS will cover all costs?
We remain confident clients will receive back all the cash and assets they had in their portfolios. The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) has demonstrated its intentions to cover the costs of returning assets to clients, and the potential shortfall should the dual claim from IBP’s institutional client be upheld.
How has my portfolio performed during the Special Administration period?
It’s difficult to calculate performance returns while an element of the assets remain at IBP. However, portfolios were invested throughout the Special Administration period, and markets have been healthy. We will keep measuring performance over the coming weeks and months as further cash and assets are transferred over from IBP to Third Platform Services (TPS).
When will my regular income payments start again?
We have been able to set up all regular monthly income payments, and we are in the process of contacting individual clients in cases where they have insufficient cash following the Interim Distribution.
Why did you decide to leave Raymond James?
When we launched Casterbridge in 2016, Raymond James gave us everything we needed. However, as our success continued and our growth accelerated, we started bumping into operational hurdles. Raymond James’ business model was moving in a direction where we did not want to be pushed in. Also, Raymond James had become very expensive for our clients and prohibitive in its charging model. The decision to move from Raymond James was based on delivering you the very best service and value available. As an important aside, and according to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) register, Raymond James is facing its own regulatory challenges and is under an FCA VREQ. A VREQ is a voluntary agreement for firms regulated by the FCA that restricts how it carries out its business.
What due diligence did you complete on IBP Markets?
As with all decisions of such importance, we conducted a thorough Due Diligence exercise on IBP that spanned two years and one month from initial conversations to when the contract was signed. The information we looked at included the company’s financial records, company structure, Companies House records, Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) register, and the ownership and reliability of their products and services. We interviewed the key personnel, together with several of their existing customers, and importantly, we notified the FCA in advance of our decision to appoint IBP as our new custodian.
We believe what happened to IBP was outside of our control and sight, as it was with IBP’s other clients, and that we could not have reasonably foreseen it being placed into Special Administration.
What measures are you taking to ensure this doesn’t happen again?
We are exploring several ways to mitigate this kind of event, many of which are not widely adopted by the market. We will share this once the work has been completed. For example, we are considering ways of diversifying our custodian, so should a similar situation occur, we would have scope to access funds via the other custodian(s).
We hope that answers any questions you have, and we will keep you updated on any responses we receive from the JSAs about the next steps in the process.
Important Information
This FAQ is for information only and does not constitute advice or recommendation and you should not make any investment decisions based on it. The views and opinions of this video are those of Casterbridge at the time of recording and may change without notice. Any opinions should not be viewed as indicating any guarantee of return from investments managed by Casterbridge nor as advice of any nature. It is important to remember that past performance and the value of an investment, and any income from it, may go down as well as up and the investor may not get back the original amount invested.
