Law firm considering class action against CBA

financial services licence compliance commonwealth financial planning colonial first state australian financial services

16 May 2014
| By Staff |
image
image
expand image

A $200 million class action could be brought against the Commonwealth Bank-owned Financial Wisdom on behalf of thousands of investors who claim they lost money due to “bad financial advice”.  

Compensation law firm Shine Lawyers says it has been approached by a number of investors who blame poor advice for financial losses, which include their “life savings”, the firm said.  

If the action is pursued, Shine says it would claim damages of up to $200 million on behalf of around 3000 investors whose money was put in CBA products through subsidiaries Financial Wisdom, Commonwealth Financial Planning, Colonial Life Insurance, CommInsure and Colonial First State Investments.  

The action would home in on the advice investors received and whether CBA and its subsidiaries breached Australian Financial Services Licence duties, the firm says.  

The potential action follows recent media investigations, through Fairfax Media and the ABC’s Four Corners, into rogue financial planner Rollo Sheriff. 

Sheriff previously owned Meridien Wealth - which operated under a licence held by  CBA-owned Financial Wisdom.  

The current owner of Meridien Wealth, Premium Wealth Management, is reportedly helping Shine with its investigation. 

CBA was contacted for comment. 

Read more about:

AUTHOR

Recommended for you

sub-bgsidebar subscription

Never miss the latest news and developments in wealth management industry

MARKET INSIGHTS

Completely agree Peter. The definition of 'significant change is circumstances relevant to the scope of the advice' is s...

3 weeks ago

This verdict highlights something deeply wrong and rotten at the heart of the FSCP. We are witnessing a heavy-handed, op...

3 weeks 5 days ago

Interesting. Would be good to know the details of the StrategyOne deal....

1 month ago

Insignia Financial has confirmed it is considering a preliminary non-binding proposal received from a US private equity giant to acquire the firm. ...

5 days 22 hours ago

Six of the seven listed financial advice licensees have reported positive share price growth in 2024, with AMP and Insignia successfully reversing earlier losses. ...

1 day 13 hours ago

A former Brisbane financial adviser has been charged with 26 counts of dishonest conduct regarding a failure to disclose he would receive substantial commission payments ...

4 weeks 1 day ago