ASIC bans ex-Spaceship CEO
Former Spaceship Capital director and chief executive, Paul Kevin Bennetts, has been banned by the corporate regulator from providing financial services for six years for dishonestly obtaining his Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) qualification.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) said in October 2018, Bennetts asked a Spaceship Capital compliance officer to complete his assessments for an AICD course on his behalf and without his involvement.
ASIC found this was serious misconduct when he held a very senior position in a financial services company and that his actions placed a subordinate staff member in a very difficult position and constituted a misuse of Spaceship Capital’s resources for his personal gain.
Bennetts was a director and responsible manager of Spaceship Capital and the company’s CEO between 2017 and 2019. Spaceship Capital operates managed investment schemes and is the promoter of the Spaceship Super Fund.
ASIC noted that while Bennetts accepted he acted dishonestly and expressed remorse, he engaged in wrongful conduct and failed to maintain the higher standards expected of a financial services provider.
Recommended for you
Sequoia Financial Group has declined by five financial advisers in the past week, four of whom have opened up a new AFSL, according to Wealth Data.
Insignia Financial chief executive Scott Hartley has detailed whether the firm will be selecting an exclusive bidder for the second phase of due diligence as it awaits revised bids from three private equity players.
Insignia Financial has reported a statutory net loss after tax of $17 million in its first half results, although the firm has noted cost optimisation means this is an improvement from a $50 million loss last year.
With alternative funds being described as “impossible” for fund managers to target towards advisers without the support of BDMs for education, Money Management explores the evolving nature of the distribution role.
