STM Group, the international financial services provider which owns Carey Pensions (now known as Options), is to make its chief operating officer Peter Marr redundant in the second half of the year as it downsizes its executive team.

The provider is reducing its executive director team from three to two.

The firm plans to use funds from the restructuring to invest into business development. It is looking to recruit a group director of business development strategy in a non-board role to ensure that the strategy for new business and product initiatives are implemented across the group, as well as capitalising on cross-selling opportunities.

A new chief financial officer, Nicole Coll, is to join the provider in October. She was previously chief of finance and operation at Bank and Clients PLC.

In its latest trading update, the firm said higher than anticipated revenue in its UK workplace pensions business was offset by shortfalls on UK SIPP business and its flexible annuity product. It added that “whilst the gaining of new business revenue remains tougher than anticipated in certain areas, costs have been managed accordingly”.

STM reported a 48% drop in profit before taxation for the year ended 31 December 2020 in May this year after delaying its results announcement following discussions with its auditors after the Adams v Carey court judgment.

Carey Pensions, now known as Options SIPP, claimed victory in the long-awaited Adams Case over who is liable for SIPPs investments in May shortly after the release of the results. 

The case, much awaited by the SIPPs sector, means it is now unlikely the floodgates will be opened to similar claims.

STM acquired Carey’s SIPP business in 2019 for £400,000. At the time STM said in terms of the Carey court case, it had secured indemnities and the benefit of significant existing PI cover from the sellers of Carey.

In the latest trading update, STM said it has completed its successful integration of the Berkeley Burke businesses that it acquired in August 2020. It is now looking for its next acquisition.

The firm has also completed its strategy to exit the corporate and trustees services sector, with the sale of both its Jersey and Gibraltar businesses, building the group’s cash resources for further M&A opportunities.

The group also announced it has completed three of the four major IT projects required to migrate all SIPPs and QROPS private pension business to its in-house administration platform. The final migration project is due to conclude by the end of October.