The Australian regulator continues to crack down on advisors and other wealth management sector participants who break compliance rules. In recent years authorities have sought to raise the quality and honesty of financial advice, prompted by a number of scandals.

The Australian Securities and Investment Commission has punished two financial advisors for various lapses, with one advisor being permanently banned from providing services.

ASIC permanently barred advisor Jane Elizabeth Myers from the sector, and banned New South Wales-based financial advisor Alexander Bruce Thomas from providing financial services for three years.

In Myers’ case, the regulator acted after it put Myers under surveillance when she was an authorised representative of Spectrum Wealth Advisers Pty Ltd between October 2013 and March 2017. Myers said that she was only facilitating the establishment of self-managed superannuation funds for her clients, rather than providing financial product advice. However, ASIC’s surveillance found that Ms Myers gave her clients financial product advice recommending that they establish SMSFs and roll over their existing superannuation into SMSFs. 

In doing so, she did not act in her clients’ best interests or provide advice that was appropriate to their circumstances, ASIC said.  

ASIC said that Myers is not adequately trained or competent to provide financial services, and that she is likely to contravene a financial services law in the future. “Her conduct demonstrated serious incompetence and irresponsibility,” it said. 

In the other case, ASIC said that Thomas was an authorised representative of National Australia Bank between June 2008 and March 2017, and of Forsyths Financial Services Pty Ltd between September 2017 and October 2019. 

ASIC found that Thomas failed to comply with financial services laws, including failing to provide advice that was in the best interests of his clients. A review of a sample of Thomas’ advice files showed that he failed to make reasonable inquiries into, and base all judgements on, his client’s relevant circumstances, and to appropriately scope the advice.

“The bannings of Ms Myers and Mr Thomas are part of ASIC’s ongoing efforts to improve standards across the financial services industry,” the regulator said.

The regulator said these bans come under its Wealth Management Major Financial Institutions Portfolio. The Portfolio focuses on the financial services conduct of Australia's largest financial institutions (NAB, Westpac, CBA, ANZ and AMP) regarding credit and retail lending, financial advice, fees for no service, superannuation trustees, insurance, unfair contract terms, and other licensee obligations.

Firms have paid millions of dollars in fines by compensation and as punishment for a range of problems, as shown here.  See here for an overview.