The administrators explained that it is not possible to partially transfer a Sipp which has both a toxic asset and standard asset and is in drawdown - the toxic asset needs to be dealt with first.
For those not in drawdown, Morgan Lloyd - who are accepting transfers - have not said whether they will or will not take on toxic assets, but it is their preference that the toxic asset is dealt with first, before the transfer.
UHY Hacker Young therefore said it is working on removing impaired or toxic assets from Sipps prior to any transfer or closure.
A spokesperson for UHY said: “We will be dealing with the majority, if not all, toxic assets at no cost to the client. We therefore do not see how any involvement of FS Legal would be in client’s interests.
“We hope to have resolved a large number of toxic holdings by the time we send out statements to Tranche 6 in September 2024.”
Last month, pensions management and administration business Morgan Lloyd was appointed to receive Hartley Pension transfers after a period of due diligence by administrators UHY Hacker Young and interaction with the FCA.
Anthony Carty, director of Morgan Lloyd’s parent company Clifton Asset Management, said the appointment “marks a new chapter” for Hartley clients.
The trouble for clients began in 2022, when Hartley Pensions announced the administrators were being brought in.
Earlier this month, as reported by FT Adviser, Berkeley Burke pension prisoners instructed a law firm to write revoking any power of attorney that administrators had over their Sipps, in light of historic deed changes.
amy.austin@ft.com
