Adviser permanently banned over dishonest fees
A New South Wales financial adviser has been permanently banned from providing financial services by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), as the regulator continues its crackdown on dishonest conduct by financial advisers.
ASIC found that Brenton John Poynter, who was an authorised representative of Charter Financial Planning from June 2010 to June 2016, dishonestly charged clients almost $67,000 in fees.
He charged for the fees in his position as a provider of financial advice regarding superannuation products to elderly clients.
From January 2015 to June 2016, Poynter took $39,700 in fees from ten clients’ investment accounts for advice which he had not provided. His personal benefit from these transactions was over $25,000.
Poynter also directed three of Charter’s clients to deposit a total of $26,990 into his persona bank account, for financial services that he had again not provided.
The dishonestly charged advice fees have since been refunded to the relevant clients by Charter and Poynter’s practice, following an internal investigation of the adviser’s conduct.
ASIC’s decision was part of the regulator’s Wealth Management Project, and Poynter would have the right to appeal for a merits review of the ban to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.
AUTHOR
Hannah Wootton
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