ASIC wants tougher line on advice failures
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) will seek to ban management figures in financial planning firms that are involved in advice failures.
ASIC deputy chair Peter Kell said the regulator would seek an extension to its powers to ban those who do not provide advice but are integral to its provision and any failures related to that advice.
“We can ban advisers but find that those who manage advice move onto new businesses and new roles,” Kell said, speaking at the Money Management/Super Review Future of Financial Service Regulation breakfast in Sydney this morning.
“If they are not involved with advice, we cannot ban them, even if they are involved in serious failings related to advice.
“For ASIC it would be better if we could ban those in management as well, where there have been specific failures.”
Kell said that ASIC was aware of a number of cases where management figures involved with failures had been able to take on new roles, while advisers had either been removed from the sector or placed under disciplinary action.
Kell said ASIC had made the recommendation to the Senate Inquiry into the performance of ASIC and would do so again to the Financial Systems Inquiry.
AUTHOR
Jason Spits
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