WH Ireland implements changes after £1.2m fine from Financial Conduct Authority

WEALTH manager WH Ireland has implemented an overhaul of its operations to prevent any risk of market abuses.

The company, which has an office in Birmingham, has been fined £1.2m from financial watchdog, the Financial Conduct Authority, after it failed to supervise staff properly.

The FCA said it identified a number of serious failings in the way the company was operating during 2013, in particular for failing to ensure inside information did not leak out.

The watchdog said the firm had breached rules on risk management and oversight because it did not have effective controls in place to prevent market abuse.

It also said WH Ireland had received inside information on a regular basis and as such there was significant risk for market abuses if that inside information had been mishandled.

As part of its punishment, the FCA has also banned the firm from taking on new clients in its corporate broking division for 72 days.

At the time the failings took place, WH Ireland had around 9,000 private wealth clients with approximately £2.5bn of assets under management.

In an announcement, WH Ireland said it was pleased that the FCA had recognised it had co-operated fully with its investigation, and that the new senior management team put in place by the firm was implementing the necessary changes.

Richard Killingbeck, chief executive of WH Ireland, said: “As the FCA has noted we have made, and continue to make, wholesale changes to our management team and our systems and controls.

“We regret that we fell short of the FCA’s expectations but since the beginning of my tenure in early 2013, significant changes have been made at the company and new specific oversight functions have been created.

“Looking forward, we, the management team can now focus our efforts on developing both our Wealth Management and Corporate Broking divisions.”

Mark Steward, director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, said: “We expect all firms to have the right controls in place to mitigate risks and protect their clients and the integrity of the markets.

“In this case, WHI’s failings were aggravated by the failure to implement adequately the skilled person’s recommendations. It is one thing to be given a chance; for the chance not to be taken up is especially culpable.”