Chase de Vere has been called out for rewarding its top-selling advisers with luxury holidays.
The national independent advice firm each year names its top 10 earners at a lavish conference where Stephen Kavanagh, chief executive, welcomes each winner to the stage before rewarding them with a luxury three-day trip, according to an investigation by The Times.
This year the top 10, who brought between £723,000 and £1.3m in fees to the firm, were rewarded with a luxury three-night stay for them and their partners in Cannes, a whistleblower claimed.
The Chase de Vere whistleblower told The Times the whole event centred around money — both what the firm made and how much the individual advisers took home — and that advisers were given monthly updates on how much each had made in an effort to encourage them to make the top 10.
Incentives for advisers have come under scrutiny lately after St James’s Place was found to be offering its advisers cruises as a reward.
The reports led the FTSE 100 firm to review its perks and incentives culture and it has since announced it would overhaul the regime.
According to The Times, Chase de Vere advisers were told at the conference next year’s price would be a three-day trip to Athens.
Mr Kavanagh said: “We are disappointed that The Times has willingly misrepresented our company culture and operations.
“The results that we achieve for our clients and the overwhelmingly positive feedback that we receive demonstrates the quality of service provided by our advisers.”
Mr Kavanagh said Chase de Vere operated in an “entirely transparent and accountable manner” and ensured its clients were fully informed of its services and associated fees at “every step”, he said.
He added: “We have robust controls in place to continuously monitor the activity of our advisers to ensure that they, along with all of our employees, operate in the best interests of our clients at all times.
“Our client focused processes and quality controls ensure that we reward only those employees who are exemplary performers and we are proud to celebrate their achievements for our clients.”
imogen.tew@ft.com
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