Former AMP Financial Planning adviser banned
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has banned a former AMP Financial Planning authorised representative from providing financial services for eight years for forgery and misleading conduct.
James Edward McCarthy from South Australia has been banned until 14 November, 2023 after ASIC found he had created and backdated statements of advice and authority to proceed documents and forged client signatures in order to comply with an internal AMP Financial Planning audit in March 2015.
ASIC said McCarthy did not provide any of the false documents to clients. McCarthy is the sole director of McCarthy Financial Solutions and was an authorised representative of AMP Financial Planning from 16 December, 2011 to 2 April, 2015.
ASIC launched the investigation into McCarthy after being notified by AMP Financial Planning.
ASIC deputy chair, Peter Kell, said: "ASIC is committed to raising standards of conduct and compliance in the wealth management industry and will act to remove advisers who engage in misleading conduct".
McCarthy has the right to appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for a review of ASIC's decision.
AUTHOR
Malavika Santhebennur
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.
