Bankhall chief Taylor’s IFA firm in default of FSCS

Bankhall joint CEO Simon Taylor’s old IFA firm has been declared in default by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

SJ Taylor and Associates, the defunct IFA based in Cheshire, had a claim against it relating to a collective investment scheme.

The FSCS states that a firm is in default if it is unable or likely to be unable to pay claims against it.

Taylor closed down the IFA firm in 1998 to concentrate on establishing Bankhall with partner Paul Hogarth. He has not been told of the nature of the claim against SJ Taylor and Associates.

A spokesman for Simon Taylor says: “Simon is completely in the dark about this and therefore cannot defend a claim that he knows nothing about.

“If, having looked at the merits of the case, and if a complaint was upheld, I am sure that he would do what any decent and honest individual would do and consider it on the individual terms.”

IFAs have questioned how firms where defaults may arise can be handed over to the FSCS – effectively to be paid by the IFA community as a whole – when the individuals who ran the firm may be in a position to pay any claims.

Master Adviser principal Doug Brodie says: “Why should I have to pay for this? Surely, as the body regulating these firms, the FSA should take responsibility and make sure that people who can pay, do so. This says to me that regulation is not working.”