The Personal Finance Society has refuted as “simply incorrect” claims that £10m is ‘missing’ from its funds.

The OurPFS campaign group has claimed that £10m has been shifted from PFS funds to parent body the Chartered Insurance Institute.

In a statement to Financial Planning Today, Don MacIntryre, interim CEO of the PFS, denied the accusation and said all the money in the PFS accounts had been properly accounted with no issues raised by auditors.

Nearly 300 Financial Planners have signed an open letter to the Personal Finance Society (PFS) board - organised by the OurPFS campaign group - calling for a probe into an allegedly ‘missing’ £10m in PFS funds campaigners claim is being held by the CII.

Mr MacIntyre said the PFS had around £17m reserves at the end of 2022 and about half of this money (£10.8m at the end of 2022) was being held "on demand" with the CII Group as ‘inter-company debt.’

He said: “It is simply incorrect to suggest that any PFS reserves are ‘missing’ or have been ‘spent’ by the CII.

“PFS and CII accounts are independently audited every year before presentation to member AGMs. The PFS accounts for end-2022 were published on 19 September and the CII accounts will be published shortly.

“Auditors have signed-off both sets of accounts each and every year, without qualification. The PFS had around £17m reserves at end-2022, with about half of this sum (£10.8m at end 2022) held ‘on demand’ with the CII Group as inter-company debt. The CII maintains a cash balance in excess of this outstanding sum at all times.”

Mr MacIntyre has also written to the OurPFS group.

Members of the OurPFS campaign group of Financial Planners want answers to their questions about where the money is held.

The dispute centres over the long term use of PFS funds by parent body the CII. Critics have claimed that the CII is using PFS funds to prop up the CII’s finances. In return, the CII and PFS say all funds are fully accounted for and the CII is ultimately responsible financially for its subsidiary the PFS. It said both bodies benefit from the funds.

The OurPFS group, founded by Financial Planner Alasdair Walker, has been unhappy with the way the CII has handled its row with its PFS subsidiary over finances, governance and strategy issues.

In its open letter, sent last week, the OurPFS group said: “£10M of funds that are constitutionally required to be used for the exclusive benefit of PFS members are missing, and despite asking for the better part of a year, nobody can tell me where they are.”

OurPFS wants an immediate transfer of all PFS funds to an account in the sole name and control of the PFS and an undertaking not to allow PFS funds to be ‘re-charged’, or ‘re-addressed’, or invoices for ‘past adjustments’ to be accepted, on the basis that these could well be seen to be "fraudulent.”

Alasdair Walker of Our PFS disputed Mr MacIntyre's assertion that members can see for themselves.

He said: "I’m afraid members can’t make any judgement on the substance of the CII’s accounts because we haven’t yet been provided with them.

"I am glad that the PFS is finally publicly engaging on the issues that members have been raising now for over a year, but I am not able to take as much comfort in their response as I would like."

The open letter and response is available at https://ourpfs.co.uk.