The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has accepted an enforceable undertaking from Halifax Investment Services after the latter admitted to violating compliance and governance laws.

The ASIC found deficiencies in the company's risk management and compliance activities following an investigation that ran for six months. The issues identified included oversight of training and professional standards of representatives, supervision and monitoring failures and breaches in reporting and handling processes for complaints.

Halifax Investment Services, which has offices in Queensland, Victoria, New South Wales and Western Australia, may have to remediate any client who has been affected by its conduct, according to a statement on the ASIC web site. An independent expert will also report regularly to the regulator over the next year on the firm's moves to rectify its errors.

Halifax has agreed to fully cooperate.