The FCA has today banned and fined James Lewis, the former CEO of City of London wealth manager and investment broker Shard Capital Partners.

Mr Lewis has been fined £120,300 following two separate instances of providing incorrect information about clients’ cash purportedly held by Shard.  

The FCA said that Mr Lewis’ misconduct put the market and investors at risk. 

Between June 2015 and May 2017, Mr Lewis told auditors that Shard held hundreds of millions in cash for a particular client. However these sums were debts owed by another client in the same group. 

In a 108 page Final Notice, the regulator said that in addition, between June and July 2021 Mr Lewis provided misleading information to a further client purporting that Shard held substantial sums on its behalf. However, that client’s entire cash balance had previously been transferred out of its account. 

The money was invested in several large investment bonds for clients via connected companies.   

According to the FCA in each instance, Mr Lewis knew the information he provided would be used to produce the clients’ annual accounts. Those accounts were misstated as a result, the regulator said.

Shard provides investment management services for intermediaries, institutional investors and high net worth individuals as well as retail clients, according to the company’s website.

Mr Lewis has not held a senior management function at Shard since 31 January 2022 and the firm continues to operate.  

Steve Smart, joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight, said: “Mr Lewis fell woefully short of the high standards of skill, care and integrity we expect of all those who lead financial firms.

“Investors depend on accurate information, and Mr Lewis’ actions put investors at significant risk of losses. It is right that he won’t be allowed to work in regulated financial services again.” 

As the FCA was considering the first of the suspected regulatory breaches, Shard became aware of the second and notified the FCA of the issue in September 2023.  Subsequently, Mr Lewis also reported his conduct to the FCA. 

Mr Lewis agreed to settle the matter and qualified for a 30% fine discount. Without the discount the financial penalty he faced would have been £171,900.