Adviser given investment commissions banned
The corporate watchdog has banned Kyle Marshall from providing financial services for three years after he advised clients to invest in a share strategy involving options trading from a firm that would give commissions to a company of which he was the sole director.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) said the Queensland-based authorised representative of in-liquidation Sentinel Private Wealth, and director of Vogue Planners which was a corporate authorised representative of Sentinel, lacked fundamental knowledge and competency of financial services and had not complied with financial services law.
Marshall recommended clients invest in a share investment strategy involving trading in options operated by Rodney Peters – a director of Australian Share Registry.
Marshall’s clients ultimately experienced large losses on their investments with Peters.
ASIC said they found:
- Marshall had failed to act in the best interests of his clients;
- Marshall’s advice to his clients, who were inexperienced in investing in shares and options, was not appropriate;
- The statements of advice Marshall provided to his clients did not accurately record his advice or his clients’ relevant circumstances and did not contain the level of detail reasonably required for the purpose of deciding to act on the advice;
- Marshall did not understand the meaning of personal advice;
- Marshall failed to record his communications with his clients; and
- Marshall failed to disclose to his clients that a company, of which he was sole director, would receive a commission from referring client to Peters.
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