Hargreaves calls for inquiry into Keydata collapse

Peter Hargreaves and chief executives of some of the largest wealth management groups have called for an independent inquiry into the failure of Keydata.

Hargreaves (pictured), along with Brewin Dolphin executive chairman Jamie Matheson, Rathbone Brothers chief executive Andy Pomfret and Charles Stanley chairman Sir David Howard, said lessons needed to be learned from Keydata's collapse following the record £326 million Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) interim levy.

'It is in the interests of consumers, clients, our industry and indeed our regulators that lessons regarding Keydata's failure are learned. We therefore urge the setting up of a full and independent inquiry to establish what happened and how it can be avoided in the future,' the said, in a letter to the Financial Times.

'With regulatory robustness and reform currently at the top of many agendas it seems appropriate to explore whether improvements might be made in the light of a well publicised failure; an independent review of the circumstances surrounding Keydata's collapse would help to inform this.'

Also included among the signatories are Cazenove Capital Management chief executive Andrew Ross, Fleming Family & Partners chief executive Mark Davies, Smith & Williamson chairman Gareth Pearce and Vestra Wealth managing partner David Scott.

They said they were concerned about the way the bill of compensating clients of Keydata had been allocated. Investment intermediaries have picked up £93 million of the levy, with the rest of the bill footed by fund managers.