AAT upholds ASIC banning of Perth broker
The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) has upheld the Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s (ASIC) banning of Perth broker Roberto Gerald Catena from providing financial services.
Catena was employed as a broker with Citigroup Wealth Advisers in Perth from May 2002 to March 2007.
An ASIC investigation found that between 19 July 2006 and 4 August 2006, Catena communicated inside information to six clients regarding the possible takeover of Vision System Limited (VSL) and advised them to acquire company shares between July 19 2006 and August 9 2006.
ASIC banned the Perth broker from providing financial services for five years on February 4 2009, after which Catena sought a review of the decision before the AAT.
The tribunal upheld the banning order, effective for five years, on May 7 2010.
In related investigations, two other former Citigroup brokers, Colin Hebbard and Mark Richard McKenzie, were also found to have communicated inside information regarding a possible takeover of VSL and advised clients to purchase stock.
Roberto Gerald Catena currently has an appeal against the AAT’s decision before the Federal Court.
Recommended for you
Financial Services Minister, Stephen Jones, has assured the cost and time to enter the financial advice profession will soon be halved, as shadow treasurer Angus Taylor pledges to reach 30,000 advisers.
The positive results of the latest financial adviser exam have helped the advice profession reach 15,600 yet again, according to Wealth Data analysis.
Financial advice firms have told Adviser Ratings they are planning to increase their compliance spend by almost a third, including on enhancements to their cyber security which ASIC has identified as an enforcement priority.
The digital advice platform is officially launching into the financial advice sector, offering up its services to practices as a means of engaging with the next generation of clients.
