What has happened
On April 24th, the Trustees/Administrators of the PSG SIPP sent out a memo to all their scheme members who had an appointed adviser from Brite Advisors USA, to inform them that they have terminated their Terms of Business (TOBs) with Brite Advisors USA, and that they would no longer have an adviser assigned to their pension.
What does this mean for you and your PSG SIPP
It now means that you no longer have a financial adviser assigned to your pension, and will likely need to appoint a new one to replace your previous Brite USA adviser.
If you would like to appoint a new adviser, once you have found one who can help you given your US residency, and also has terms of business with PSG, then you will need to provide a signed letter confirming the appointment of a new adviser. Most SEC regulated advisers who can help you will have their own Change of Adviser templates, to help you with that requirement, and PSG SIPP also have their own Change of Adviser form, so the need for a fresh draft document is unlikely, but your new chosen adviser will help you with all of that.
However, whilst it is rather difficult to manage an advised SIPP without an adviser, you may technically be able to defer appointing an adviser, which, if you wish to do, then you will need to fill out various documents with PSG in order to confirm that, to make sure you are fully aware of all the potential consequences etc.
Our Thoughts
Some of you may have been rather taken aback when this email came through, whilst others may have already guessed that this was going to happen, especially those who had already made the decision to appoint another financial adviser, regardless of whether they had assets stuck on the frozen Brite Platform or not.
Many of you reading this, especially if already Cameron James USA clients, may have already completed a change of agency, or removed their previous adviser, so this update is redundant, but the majority have been holding off making a decision, hoping to get further along in the Regulatory/Legal process with the Brite Platform before taking action.
There will be also be many people invested in other platforms/bonds, so not subject to the Brite Platform issues, or at least not fully, and now find yourself, for want of a better term, “homeless” and in need of finding a new adviser.
Our guidance is very much along the lines of what we have been telling Brite Platform “victims” and indeed pretty much any sort of prospective client that gets in touch with us, which is to not panic, don’t make any rash decisions, and take your time to do proper due diligence and find the services of a trustworthy, qualified and regulated financial advisor, preferably one who is an adherent of lifestyle financial planning, and not a glorified amateur investment manager, like far too many are.
What to do now
We have onboarded many former Brite Advisors clients, especially Brite Advisors USA clients, many of whom are in the PSG SIPP, most with their investments on the Brite Platform, but some not, who we are now helping move on from this debacle, where possible, or providing some much-needed peace of mind in planning out what to do once this mess is behind them.
It might very well be that all the advice/guidance at this stage is just to appoint a new adviser, and then wait (albeit lots of other superb financial planning can be done together in the background), or it may be your funds are not on the Brite platform but a better platform and/or pension provider is out there that is more suitable for your situation. However, the only way to know for sure and to take action accordingly is to go through a formal advice process with an SEC Regulated Financial Adviser.
If you would like to explore the options you now have, please feel free to get in touch with us directly here, and we will make sure one of our advisers will be in contact with you, to help you figure out your options, and guide you on how we may be able to help you.
Otherwise, please subscribe to our YouTube channel and follow along on our blog posts, as we have several videos and blogs on the way, keeping those informed of any updates as they come, and our opinions on what to take away from them.