A COUPLE from Co Kildare have settled their High Court action against the Financial Services Ombudsman over his rejection of their complaint about the manner in which an investment product was sold to them by First Active.
While the product had not yielded any return, the couple had retained their initial €2.5 million investment, the court heard.
William Sexton and his partner Mary McHugh, both 62, of Cornelscourt, Newbridge, had made a complaint to the ombudsman in March 2008, arising from their €2.5 million investment of March 2006 in a protected portfolio investment bond, a First Active product.
They made the investment out of the €5 million proceeds from a part-sale of the family farm, the court heard. They also operate a taxi business.
Prior to making that investment, they claimed they made it clear to First Active they did not want to invest in a tracker bond, a fixed-term investment where typically the bulk of the money is invested in a deposit-based account and the rest invested in the stock market.
They claimed they had also made clear they wanted to invest for a period of five years only but the investment was for a period of five years and 11 months. Their wishes were not adhered to by First Active, they alleged.
In his February 2010 decision, the ombudsman found there was no evidence First Active was informed by the couple they wished to avoid investing in a tracker bond and he rejected the majority of their complaints.
The couple challenged that decision in High Court proceedings. Both the ombudsman and First Active opposed the proceedings and First Active also denied the investment product was a tracker bond.
The case opened briefly yesterday before the president of the High Court, Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns, but, after talks between the sides, he was told the matter had been resolved. No terms of settlement were disclosed.