First wave of ex-Clarkson Hill advisers gain investment permissions

23 February 2011 4:44 pm | By Natalie Holt

The initial groups of former Clarkson Hill advisers to join Merchant House Financial Services and Moneygate have been granted full investment permissions from the FSA.

National IFA Clarkson Hill went into administration in December after protracted talks with the FSA about whether the firm was meeting regulatory capital requirements.

Merchant House acquired some of Clarkson Hill’s assets after it was put into administration. Merchant House then became an appointed representative of TenetConnect.

Tenet authorised 150 former Clarkson Hill advisers for mortgage and protection permissions in January. But investment advisers, who require CF30 authorisation, were subject to a more rigorous due diligence process which caused a delay in reinstating their investment permissions.

Some 15 Clarkson Hill advisers that joined Merchant House have now been granted full investment permissions, with a further 18 advisers expected to gain authorisation in the next 24 hours and around 70 advisers expected to be reauthorised within the next week.

Merchant House managing director Nic Browne says: “I am naturally delighted to learn of the authorisations today and further encouraged by the news that a significant number of advisers should regain their authorisation by the end of the month.”

Tenet chief executive Simon Hudson says: “Merchant House is one of our largest AR firms and whilst the flow of authorisations is now coming through we remain focused to conclude all applications.”

Meanwhile Moneygate, which was involved in an unsuccessful bid for Clarkson Hill last year, has also gained full investment permissions for its first wave of ex-Clarkson Hill advisers.

Moneygate chief executive Lee Hartley says: “I am pleased to welcome these new advisers on board. We have an approval process which has been designed specifically for this project and has now been proven to work for ex-Clarkson Hill advisers.”

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