Nick Anderson, head of risk and compliance at UK wealth advisory firm Towry, which last week was fined almost half a million pounds for failing to comply with financial regulations, has resigned, the firm has confirmed to this publication.

Last week, Towry was fined £494,000 (around $770,000) for giving misleading information to the Financial Services Authority, UK financial regulator. The FSA had contacted firms asking them to check they were not putting client money at risk. Towry incorrectly told the FSA it complied fully with how to handle client money as laid out under the watchdog’s Client Asset Sourcebook (CASS) approach.

Towry had responded to a “Dear CEO” letter that the FSA had sent to a number of UK firms - which were unidentified at the time - following concerns it had over whether clients were being put into inappropriately risky financial products.

The affair is unfortunate for Towry as the firm – as it stressed to this publication in a recent interview – likes to emphasis its fee-based remuneration structure.

The company declined to give details on Anderson’s departure.

“Towry cannot comment on decisions made by individuals. We would like to thank Nick for his contribution and tremendous amount of hard work whilst at Towry, and we wish him every success in the future,” a spokesperson told WealthBriefing.

Anderson has, separately, been an important witness in a court case in which Towry is seeking damages from seven former Edward Jones advisors and their current employer, Raymond James Investment Services, over alleged client poaching. That case in the High Court is expected to be concluded in a few weeks’ time.

Towry – the firm formerly known as Towry Law – says it is one of the largest pure-play wealth advisory businesses in the UK, with 21 offices, 208 advisors (out of a total payroll of 773 employees) and more than 20,000 clients. To be a client, the firm requires a minimum of £100,000 (around $164,400) of investable assets.