Author’s Note
Important: Some readers, especially victims of financial harm, may find elements of this article distressing or offensive. Please be aware that the content aims to present a neutral, factual account of publicly available information about Nigel Green, CEO of deVere Group.
This article has been written to be compliant, balanced, and legally defensible, drawing only from verified sources. It is not intended to minimise or excuse the serious harm experienced by victims, nor to endorse any individual or organisation. Instead, it seeks to document the publicly reported career, leadership, media coverage, and regulatory interactions of Mr Green, to inform wider understanding and dialogue.
I recognise the deep pain and injustice many have faced, and I stand in solidarity with those seeking accountability and reform in financial services. I hope this piece contributes to the broader picture, even while acknowledging that no neutral profile can fully capture the lived experience of those affected.
Professional Background and Career History
Nigel Green is a British financial services executive best known as the founder and Chief Executive Officer of deVere Group, one of the world’s largest independent financial advisory organizations newsmax.com. Born in London and following in his father’s footsteps in finance, Green entered the financial services industry as a young adult newsmax.com. He spent around 15 years working in London’s financial sector before expanding his career internationally newsmax.com. In 2002, Green launched deVere Group with a single office in Hong Kong, aiming to serve the growing market of expatriate investors newsmax.comceo-review.com. Starting from that single location, he steadily grew the firm year-on-year; by the mid-2010s deVere had a truly global presence with around 70 offices worldwide and clients across 100 countries mikecoady.comnewsmax.com. Under Green’s leadership, deVere Group today oversees more than $12 billion in funds under advice or management, catering to international mass affluent and high-net-worth clients newsmax.com.
Before founding deVere, Green built his expertise as an independent financial adviser in the UK and abroad. Early in his career, he worked as a financial advisor at Liberty Life in the UK and rose through the ranks into management roles theceoviews.com. An entrepreneurial opportunity soon beckoned overseas: colleagues convinced him to explore the expatriate market in Bermuda, where Green recognized a gap in financial services for expats of all nationalities (not only Britons) ceo-review.com. He established a Luxembourg-registered company to serve expatriate clients, confirming the strong demand for international financial advice ceo-review.com. This experience set the stage for founding deVere Group in 2002. Over the subsequent two decades, Green guided deVere’s expansion into a diversified financial organization offering not only independent financial advice but also asset management, insurance brokerage, and fintech services theceoviews.comnewsmax.com. In 2017, for example, deVere announced plans to launch its own private bank and secured an investment banking license, reflecting Green’s drive to broaden the group’s financial offerings newsmax.com.
Leadership Style and Business Practices
Nigel Green’s leadership style is often described as hands-on, people-oriented, and forward-thinking by those who have worked with or observed him. Rather than managing solely from the boardroom, he is known for regularly visiting deVere’s global offices and maintaining direct communication with staff at all levels ceo-review.commikecoady.com. A 2015 profile noted that Green frequently makes “round-the-world trips” to meet with his teams, fostering a culture of respect and motivation within the company mikecoady.com. Employees in various offices have cited his energy and personal dedication as a source of inspiration that instills positivity across the organization mikecoady.com. Open communication is a key element of his management approach – Green keeps close contact with team members, listens to their input, and emphasizes that each person’s role is important to the firm’s success theceoviews.com. This people-centric leadership method is intended to boost morale and ensure that staff feel valued, which in turn can improve client service.
Green also places heavy emphasis on training, professional development, and ethical practices within his business model. He has stated that to be the best, one must invest in the education and development of the team – a philosophy reflected in deVere’s continual training programs and support for industry qualifications ceo-review.com. Even as the company grew, Green established regional compliance departments and promoted a policy of fee transparency, positioning himself as a champion of integrity in the financial advisory space ceo-review.com. “For Nigel Green, integrity is everything,” one industry award citation noted, referencing his efforts to strengthen compliance and transparency in deVere’s operations ceo-review.com. In practice, deVere under Green’s leadership claims to prioritize clients’ best interests through independent advice, although this claim has at times been scrutinized by observers (as discussed later).
A forward-looking strategist, Green has been quick to adapt deVere Group’s business practices to emerging trends. He is an advocate of fintech innovation, steering the company to develop digital tools and online platforms for clients. In interviews, Green has highlighted his goal of keeping deVere “at the forefront of innovation and the fintech revolution” in financial services mirrorreview.com. Under his guidance, deVere launched mobile apps for banking and investing and even introduced cryptocurrency-related services as early as the late 2010s, aiming to meet evolving client demands. This focus on innovation aligns with Green’s belief in continual learning; he has remarked that a strong leader should “always [be] open to learning” new skills or technologies to drive the business forward theceoviews.com. By blending a high-touch personal leadership style with a willingness to embrace new financial technologies, Green has cultivated a corporate culture that seeks to be both client-focused and future-oriented.
Media Coverage and Public Image
Positive Coverage and Recognition
In the business media, Nigel Green is frequently portrayed as a successful entrepreneur and influential industry voice. He has often been invited to share commentary on global financial markets, economic policy, and fintech trends. Green regularly contributes opinion pieces and is quoted in the press on topics such as pension reforms, cryptocurrency, and international investing. (For instance, he was quoted in 2023 calling proposed UK pension fund rules “dangerous and misguided,” reflecting his outspokenness on policy matters finnewsnetwork.com.au.) His high profile has also earned him spots on expert panels and as a keynote speaker at financial conferences mikecoady.com, further cementing his image as a thought leader in the wealth management arena.
Green’s business achievements have garnered recognition from various industry publications. In 2019, CEO Monthly magazine named him “Most Influential CEO of the Year” for the financial sector ceo-review.com, highlighting deVere’s global growth under his leadership. Profiles in outlets like The CEO Views and Mirror Review have lauded Green as a “pioneer” in fintech and a visionary in international finance thebusinessfame.com. Such articles often emphasize the scale of the company he built (touting deVere’s billions in assets under advice and thousands of clients worldwide) and his ability to anticipate market needs. A South China Morning Post feature dubbed him “The Game Changing deVere CEO,” focusing on how he reshaped the expat financial advice market with a model starting in Hong Kong in 2002. Within the company, a promotional video in 2015 showcased employees’ admiration for Green’s leadership, with staff attributing deVere’s “industry-leading success story” to his energy and vision mikecoady.com. These positive portrayals present Nigel Green as a dynamic CEO who has transformed a startup into a global finance firm and as an influential voice championing innovation and client-centric advice.
Critical Reporting and Controversies
Despite many accolades, Nigel Green and deVere Group have also faced critical media coverage over the years. Several investigative reports have scrutinized deVere’s business practices, particularly regarding sales tactics and regulatory compliance in some jurisdictions. A notable example came from the South China Morning Post in late 2013, which published a series of articles raising serious allegations about deVere’s Hong Kong operations. The SCMP investigation claimed that unlicensed advisers were selling investment-linked insurance products for deVere in Hong Kong “using aggressive sales tactics,” and that some advisors were not properly registered with the local industry regulator (the Confederation of Insurance Brokers) international-adviser.cominternational-adviser.com. It also reported that complaints had been lodged with the regulator over these practices, including an instance where a deVere adviser allegedly “churned” a client’s insurance policy (unnecessarily switching policies to generate commissions) international-adviser.com. One article pointed out a potential conflict of interest involving Green himself, noting that he held a stake in a fund or product that his advisers were selling, which SCMP suggested could compromise the impartiality of advice (though Green disputed any wrongdoing).
Green and deVere strongly refuted the SCMP’s claims at the time, characterizing the reporting as “somewhat sensationalist” and misleading international-adviser.cominternational-adviser.com. A deVere spokesperson acknowledged a small number of client complaints in Hong Kong but asserted that the incidence was extremely low relative to their thousands of clients in that market international-adviser.com. The company maintained that all complaints were taken seriously and resolved appropriately, and it denied that it allowed unlicensed activity by its staff international-adviser.cominternational-adviser.com. No public enforcement action in Hong Kong was announced in the immediate aftermath of those reports. Nevertheless, the SCMP exposé and similar stories contributed to a more mixed public image for Nigel Green: alongside praise for deVere’s growth were lingering questions about its sales-driven culture.
Other international media have echoed some of these concerns. Bloomberg News reported in 2017 that “wherever there are British expats with money, there’s a deVere Group office not far away,” but that in many locales the company’s “aggressive sales tactics” and high fees had “drawn the attention of regulators” news.bloomberglaw.com. The same Bloomberg piece revealed that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission was investigating deVere’s American arm at that time, following complaints from former employees about questionable practices news.bloomberglaw.com. This investigative tone in the media suggests that while Green is credited for building a vast advisory empire, he is also associated with the hard-charging sales culture that fueled its expansion. Consumer forums and expat community discussions have at times featured complaints from individuals who felt the advice or products they received from deVere were not in their best interest (citing high commissions or long lock-in investment products). Such critical coverage has painted a picture of a polarizing figure: an influential CEO who champions client service publicly, yet whose firm has at times been accused of putting sales ahead of customers.
Regulatory Relationships and Involvement with Authorities
Nigel Green’s interactions with financial regulators have been a prominent aspect of his public profile, especially in recent years, as authorities in different countries have examined deVere’s operations. Two significant regulatory cases stand out: one in South Africa and one in the United States. In both instances, financial regulators scrutinized aspects of deVere’s business, leading to enforcement actions – with notably different outcomes for Green personally.
South Africa (FSCA Investigation): Green was embroiled in a high-profile case with the South African Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) related to deVere’s activities in that country. The FSCA conducted a multi-year investigation into deVere’s former South Africa operations (DeVere SA and DeVere Investments South Africa) covering the period from 2010 to 2015 international-adviser.com. The core issue was the marketing of foreign collective investment schemes to South African clients that had not been approved by the local regulator, in violation of financial sector laws international-adviser.com. In May 2022, the FSCA announced enforcement actions: it fined the deVere South Africa businesses 10 million rand and revoked their license, and separately it imposed a ZAR 2.5 million (approximately £123,000) fine on Nigel Green personally and debarred him from operating in South Africa’s financial services industry for five years offshorealert.cominternational-adviser.com. The regulator asserted that as a director and “key individual” of the South African entities during the period in question, Green had “caused or permitted” the regulatory breaches international-adviser.com. At the time, Green strongly denied wrongdoing and DeVere said it was “shocked and disappointed” by the decision, confirming that he would appeal international-adviser.cominternational-adviser.com.
Green’s appeal was successful. In January 2023, the Financial Services Tribunal in South Africa overturned the personal fine against him and set aside the findings of misconduct international-adviser.cominternational-adviser.com. The Tribunal’s decision concluded that there was insufficient evidence that Green had contravened the relevant section of the law during his tenure as a director international-adviser.com. Notably, the Tribunal also ruled that the FSCA lacked jurisdiction to take administrative action against Green personally, since he was not based in South Africa and had not formally submitted to the regulator’s jurisdiction despite cooperating with the investigation as a witness international-adviser.cominternational-adviser.com. Following the ruling, Green stated that “all accusations and charges… in South Africa by the regulator have been dropped” and that the case was closed international-adviser.com. However, the Tribunal did remit the issue of the debarment back to the FSCA for reconsideration international-adviser.com, as it had only explicitly voided the financial penalty. In practice, after the Tribunal’s harsh criticism of the FSCA’s approach (the judge noted factual inaccuracies and the regulator “changing the alleged offences… on several occasions” international-adviser.com), it is understood that no further action was taken to enforce the ban. This South African episode highlighted Green’s contentious relationship with regulators: he was initially sanctioned over integrity and compliance concerns, only to be legally vindicated on appeal.
United States (SEC Action): In the U.S., regulatory scrutiny culminated in a substantial penalty for deVere USA, Inc., the group’s American affiliate – though Nigel Green himself was not personally sanctioned in that case. In June 2018, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that deVere USA had agreed to pay an $8 million civil fine to settle charges that it failed to disclose conflicts of interest when providing investment advice to clients reuters.com. The case revolved around deVere’s lucrative business advising expatriate British clients in the U.S. on transferring their UK pensions into overseas pension schemes (often referred to as QROPS transfers) reuters.com. According to the SEC, between 2013 and 2016 deVere USA concealed fee-sharing arrangements with third-party product providers, arrangements that gave deVere advisors a financial incentive to recommend certain pension transfer products without fully informing clients reuters.com. This undisclosed compensation was significant – the SEC cited that two deVere managers in the US received millions of dollars tied to these pension transactions (about $2.6 million to one manager and $2.1 million to another) reuters.com. The SEC viewed this as a breach of fiduciary duty by the firm, with the head of the SEC’s New York office stating that “DeVere USA brushed aside” its obligation to disclose such conflicts reuters.com. As part of the settlement, deVere did not admit or deny the findings but consented to hire an independent compliance consultant to improve its practices reuters.com. Green, as the global CEO, was not named for individual wrongdoing in the SEC order; however, two former senior executives of deVere USA were charged separately by the SEC for their roles in misleading clients (the U.S.-based CEO at the time, Benjamin Alderson, and a manager, Bradley Hamilton) reuters.com. This regulatory case received considerable media attention, reinforcing earlier reports about aggressive sales incentives at deVere. It also indicated a willingness on Green’s part to settle compliance issues pragmatically – the firm stated it “settled to put the matter behind it” while affirming a commitment to treat clients fairly reuters.com.
Other Regulatory Engagements: In addition to the above, Nigel Green has occasionally been in the orbit of other regulatory discussions. In the UK, deVere operates primarily through its overseas offices (serving British expat clients), which has at times limited direct oversight by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). However, concerns from former clients have reached UK regulators: in 2022, for example, a dissatisfied ex-customer wrote an open letter to the FCA’s chief executive, urging the regulator to investigate deVere’s pension transfer practices, which she described as “pension scams” perpetrated by the firm moneymarketing.co.uk. This letter, reported by trade publication Money Marketing, shows the kind of complaints that have surfaced, though the FCA’s response (if any) was not publicly detailed. Furthermore, media reports in 2022 highlighted an unusual case in Zimbabwe, where a deVere client critical of the company was arrested on allegations of cyber harassment amid a legal dispute with Green thezimbabwemail.com. While not a regulatory action per se, this incident underscores the lengths to which Green has occasionally gone to defend his and the company’s reputation in legal forums.
Overall, Nigel Green’s record with financial authorities is mixed: he has led a globally active firm that inevitably comes under various regulators’ purview, and while his company has faced fines and enforcement in some cases (as in the U.S.), Green has also successfully defended himself against personal sanctions (as in South Africa). These interactions suggest a career spent navigating the complex compliance landscape of cross-border financial services, sometimes contentiously.
Conclusion
Nigel Green’s profile as the CEO of deVere Group is one of significant achievement coupled with considerable controversy. On one hand, he is a self-made entrepreneur who built a financial advisory empire from the ground up, expanding into dozens of countries and adapting his business to modern fintech trends. He is often praised for visionary leadership, a vigorous work ethic, and an ability to inspire his global team – qualities that have earned him industry awards and a platform in the international financial media. On the other hand, Green’s aggressive expansion strategy has brought critical scrutiny. Reports in reputable outlets have questioned deVere’s sales practices and raised concerns about client outcomes, and regulators in multiple jurisdictions have investigated aspects of the business. Green’s leadership style, by his own account, centers on integrity and client focus, yet he has had to repeatedly affirm those values in the face of public and regulatory challenges.
In sum, Nigel Green remains a prominent figure in the financial services industry. His career trajectory – from a young adviser in London to the chief executive of a worldwide advisory firm – illustrates both the opportunities and pitfalls of leading a fast-growing financial company. As of 2025, he continues to helm deVere Group, advocating for innovation in finance and engaging with an ever-evolving set of regulations. The story of Nigel Green is emblematic of the dynamic nature of global finance: it features ambition and success, tempered by the need for oversight and accountability, all documented in equal measure by supportive headlines and critical analyses. news.bloomberglaw.cominternational-adviser.com
Epilogue: The Fine Line Between Stewardship and State Control
As Nigel Green’s recent comments highlight, the tension between government intervention and fiduciary independence is intensifying. The UK Chancellor’s proposed pension reforms—compelling funds to channel capital into domestic markets—expose a critical fault line in financial governance. While stimulating local growth is a valid goal, commandeering private pension savings risks undermining trust, diversification, and the core duty to act in savers’ best interests.
This unfolding debate underscores the very challenges explored in our article: the delicate balance between ambition and accountability. It is a timely reminder that true financial stewardship must resist short-term political pressures in favour of long-term, globally diversified security for all.
🛡️ Setting the Record Straight: Transparency, Integrity, and the Mission of the Academy of Life Planning
In recent days, I’ve been made aware of some deeply troubling claims being circulated about me personally and the Academy of Life Planning. These include allegations that I am somehow “infiltrating” victim support groups, promoting industry PR, or using charitable services for commercial gain.
I want to address these directly—not out of defensiveness, but in the spirit of transparency, integrity, and shared purpose.
❌ Let’s be clear:
I have no affiliation—past or present—with deVere, Nigel Green, or any financial firm associated with misconduct.
I receive no funding or commission from product providers.
I am not part of a PR operation, nor do I speak on behalf of any institution but my own.
And the Academy of Life Planning is not a sales platform—it is a values-led movement committed to empowering individuals through education, integrity, and self-agency.
🧭 Why I Wrote the Article in Question
A profile of Nigel Green that I published recently has been criticised by some as lacking sufficient scrutiny or being overly neutral. That article, like many others I’ve written, was intended to document public information—not excuse misconduct.
I understand now that for survivors of financial abuse, neutrality can feel like betrayal. To those hurt by the tone or content, I sincerely apologise. My attempt to maintain legal balance was never meant to undermine lived experiences or the emotional weight of injustice.
🤝 On Victim Support and the Get SAFE Programme
It’s also been suggested that I am using victim engagement as a “funnel” into the Academy. That accusation is not only false, it dishonours the hard work of many volunteers and survivors who are co-creating Get SAFE—a charitable initiative offering free, non-commercial recovery support for victims of financial exploitation.
No one is charged. No one is sold to. We don’t even collect payment information. We are currently registering the programme as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) to reinforce that commitment.
💡 What the Academy Does Stand For
The Academy of Life Planning exists to challenge a broken financial system. We offer resources, training, and tools for people who want to take control of their own financial future—free from product pushers, conflicted advice, or opaque incentives.
Our work is rooted in:
- Transparency, not hidden commissions
- Education, not dependency
- Community, not control
- And most of all, empowerment, not exploitation
🙏 A Call for Unity
Let me say this clearly: I am not your enemy. If you’re fighting for justice, for victims, and for reform—we are on the same side.
Yes, we may have different methods. We may not always agree. But we must be careful not to allow fear, misinformation, or mistrust to divide those working toward the same goal. The real danger lies outside our circles—in the boardrooms of those still profiting from regulatory failure and public silence.
So let’s stay focused. Let’s stay collaborative. And let’s remember who we’re really fighting for.
If you have questions about my work, my motivations, or the Academy’s role, my door is open.
With respect and resolve,
Steve Conley
Founder, Academy of Life Planning
Programme Lead, Get SAFE
Your Money or Your Life
Unmask the highway robbers – Enjoy wealth in every area of your life!
By Steve Conley. Available on Amazon. Visit www.steve.conley.co.uk to find out more.
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