AAT upholds SMSF adviser ban


Perth self-managed super fund (SMSF) adviser Wayne Blazejczyk will have his ban upheld as the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) has sided with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
Blazejczyk was banned in December 2019 from providing financial services for five years for failing to meet best interests obligations.
He had sought a review of the scope of ASIC’s banning order and considered that it should be limited to only prohibiting him from providing personal advice to retail clients.
However, he did not contest ASIC’s findings that he had breached a financial services law and conceded that a five-year banning period was appropriate.
The AAT was not satisfied that a limited banning order of the type proposed by Blazejczyk would provide sufficient general deterrence, nor was it satisfied that the proposed limited banning order would promote consumer confidence and professionalism in the financial services industry.
It was also not satisfied that a permissive banning order, which would allow Blazejczyk to engage in specific financial services activities, would be adequate to promote the protective objectives of the licensing regime.
The AAT affirmed ASIC’s decision to ban Blazejczyk on 2 November, 2020.
Recommended for you
ASIC was active in the first quarter of 2025 with several financial adviser bannings and court action, while the FSCP also handed down outcomes to advisers.
With a joint venture announced between WT Financial and Merchant Wealth Partners, the firm may have a US background, but partner David Haintz has a long history with Australian financial advice.
The big four bank is set to see $40 million per annum in cost savings as it continues to migrate customers from its Asgard wealth platform to BT Panorama by FY26.
AMP North has added three new managers to its range of managed accounts for financial advisers and also extended its existing partnership with Betashares.