ASIC investigation results in jailing
The sole director of Sydney-based funds management firm BRG Corporation was sentenced to seven years imprisonment after an investigation by ASIC.
Gregory Nathan, of Rose Bay, was found guilty of five charges of dishonest conduct under the Corporations Act and a further four counts of obtaining money by making false and misleading statements while managing the fund under the NSW State Crimes Act. The court also took into account a further five counts of dishonest conduct on sentencing.
According to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), Nathan was operating an unregistered managed investment scheme known as the BRG Australian Equities Fund and raised almost $8.8 million between 2001 and 2006.
ASIC alleged that Nathan distributed reports to investors falsely stating that the fund was generating positive returns when it was losing substantial funds and also reported to some investors that the fund had $22 million in funds under management, when the most it could have had at any one time was approximately $4.9 million.
It was also alleged that Nathan used approximately $1 million of investors’ funds for gambling purposes.
The fund entered voluntary administration on October 10, 2006, owing investors more than $4 million.
Recommended for you
With regional and rural suburbs exhibiting high spare capacity to invest, Money Management speaks to three regional advisers on the opportunities beyond the major cities and the importance of a strong network.
Platform consolidation is expected to accelerate among financial advisers this year, as software company Finura pinpoints which two platforms are set to be the winners, thanks to this trend.
The software provider has made several appointments in its APAC wealth propositions team, with a focus on driving growth across digital advice, Xplan and strategic partnerships.
The platform has announced it plans to close its Xplore managed discretionary account service in 2026 which holds $2 billion in funds under administration.
