The former deputy chief executive
officer of asset manager H2O AM LLP (H2O), Jean-Noel Alba, has
been fined £1,049,500 by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)
and banned from the financial services industry. An FCA
investigation found that Mr Alba lacked integrity because he
misled the FCA.
Between April 2015 and November 2019,
H2O failed to carry out proper due diligence on investments
relating to the Tennor Group of companies owned by Lars
Windhorst, or companies he
introduced.
The investments were high risk and
hard to sell, leaving investor money trapped. In 2024, the FCA
agreed that H2O would pay those investors €250
million.
During the FCA's investigation into
H2O, Mr Alba provided false and misleading statements and
documentation to the regulator. Mr Alba was the principal point
of contact with the FCA during its
investigation.
Mr Alba asked junior colleagues to
create minutes, including records and minutes of committees,
where no formal meetings had taken place. Mr Alba also provided
due diligence materials, such as investment research, to the FCA
that had been created years after the investments had been made,
when he had claimed they were produced at the
time.
Steve Smart, joint executive director of enforcement and market
oversight, said: “Senior leaders in
financial services need to act with integrity. Mr Alba fell well
short of those basic standards.
“He has no place in the industry. This
ban and substantial fine should serve as a warning to others that
if you mislead the FCA, you will face the
consequences.”
Notes to
editors:
- The FCA investigation found that Mr Alba breached APER
Statement of Principle 1 (failed to act with integrity) and
Statement of Principle 4 (failed to deal with the FCA in an open
and cooperative way); and Individual Conduct Rule 1 (failed to
act with integrity) and Individual Conduct Rule 3 (failed to deal
with the FCA in an open and cooperative way).
-
The FCA previously announced H2O
would pay €250 million to
affected investors following its investigation. The firm is no
longer authorised in the UK. Mr Alba was previously identified
in the final notice as “Senior Manager
A”.
-
The French financial services
regulator the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) is the
designated regulator in respect of the collective investments,
which H2O had managed on a cross-border basis pursuant to the
UCITS Directive. The AMF is the designated regulator of
H2O.
