ASIC bans financial adviser
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has banned a New South Wales financial adviser, Leonard Respinger, from providing financial advice for five years.
He was banned after an investigation into his conduct as a consultant of Hall Chadwick Corporate and director of Clear Star Holdings. Respinger was engaged as a consultant by Great Pacific Capital (GPC) between March 2002 and April 2003 to help the company list on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). At the time, GPC was having difficulty obtaining the shareholder spread required to list on the ASX.
Respinger consequently asked his associates to encourage people they knew to fill in application and transfer forms for GPC shares and paid $100 for each completed form. Part of the money was sometimes passed on to the applicant.
Respinger advised the applicants to leave the purchaser details on the form blank, and the shares were paid for from an account held by a GPC director and transferred out of the applicant’s names using the completed transfer forms.
Respinger can appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for a review of the ASIC decision.
Recommended for you
Inefficient data processes and systems mean advisers are spending over half of their time on product implementation and administration at the expense of clients, according to research.
With the regulator announcing its enforcement focus for 2025 last week, law firm Hall & Wilcox examines the areas which have dropped down the list in priority for the regulator.
South Australian financial advice and accounting business Perks has extended its paid parental leave program from 12 to 26 weeks, putting it on par with big four firms.
Mason Stevens has tapped Investment Trends’ head of growth, alongside two other hires, to bolster its distribution team.
