ASIC’s WMP claims eighth adviser
A Victorian adviser has become the eighth person to be banned by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) as part of the regulator's Wealth Management Project (WMP).
An ASIC investigation found that between October 2009 and August 2014, former Westpac authorise representative, Amanda Ritchie, had transferred funds from clients' accounts without authorisation, created false documents to deceive clients, and engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct to perpetuate the false documents on client accounts.
In a statement released today, ASIC said Westpac had terminated Ritchie's employment, with its subsidiary, Magnitude Group Pty Ltd, in August 2014, and reported its concerns to the regulator in December 2014.
Ritchie had been an authorised representative at Magnitude from 19 February 2013 until her employment was terminated on 14 August 2014. Prior to that she had been an authorise representative with M&S Services from 19 December 2003 until 18 February 2013.
"Ritchie is the eighth person to be banned from the financial services industry as part of ASIC's Wealth Management Project, commenced in late 2014," ASIC said.
"This project encompasses a number of investigations and proactive risk-based surveillances, with particular focus on compliance in large financial advice businesses."
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