No end to Wattle linked convictions
Another adviser associated with the notorious Wattle Group has pleaded guilty to 62 charges arising from anAustralian Securities and Investments Commission(ASIC) investigation.
Ian William Snook, formerly an investment adviser and principal of Golconda Resources, appeared in the District Court in Adelaide yesterday to face charges relating to his activities in promoting investments directly, or via his company, into the failed Wattle investment scheme.
Earlier this month, Anne Shirley Corbett and Robert Edward Corbett of Anscor, which was responsible for administering the Wattle Group’s investments, also pleaded guilty to charges of contravening the Corporations Act, while in July, Anscor general manager Kenneth Edwin Parker was sentenced to a $1,000 three-year good behaviour bond.
Other recent convictions arising from ASIC’s investigation include Rodney James Mackay and John Andrew Allen of Mackay & Allen, who pleaded guilty to being knowingly concerned in the scheme, and Australian Secured Mortgages’ Bruce Raymond Walden, who was sentenced to a $2,000 three-year good behaviour bond.
The Wattle Group was an unlicensed investment scheme which raised more than $160 million from over 2,700 investors across Australia, operated by Geoffrey Robert Dexter, who was convicted of multiple fraud charges and jailed for 10 years in 2001, following ASIC’s investigation.
Snook was remanded on continuing bail to appear in the Adelaide District Court for sentencing on September 25.
Recommended for you
ASIC has released the results of its first adviser exam to be held in 2025, with 241 candidates attempting the test.
Quarterly Wealth Data analysis has uncovered positive improvements in financial adviser numbers compared with losses in the prior corresponding period.
Holding portfolios that are too complex or personalised can be a detractor for acquirers of financial advice firms as they require too much effort to maintain post-acquisition.
As the financial advice profession continues to wait on further DBFO legislation, industry commentators have encouraged advisers to act now in driving practice efficiency.
