ASIC bans former Macquarie brokers
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has imposed limited bans on two former Macquarie Equities brokers for breaches of their licence conditions.
After an investigation into the activities of Matthew Yourell and Gavin Butler involving discretionary trading on clients accounts while employed with Macquarie, the regulator found cause to ban them from providing financial services for eight and five years respectively.
ASIC found that during June, 2003, and March, 2005, the two men breached their licence conditions by trading on clients’ accounts without their knowledge, carrying out complex options trades without taking into account the clients’ circumstances, failing to advise clients’ of their true financial position when losses were incurred, and borrowing money from clients to prop up failing portfolios.
In addition, ASIC felt Yourell and Butler may have breached Australian Stock Exchange market rules by not disclosing to the providers of the loans the significant risk they were open to via the transactions.
Furthermore, the regulator determined that clients were not provided with the required information booklets and disclosure documents by the two Macquarie representatives.
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