ASIC bans Queensland adviser
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has banned financial adviser Lawrence Toledo from providing financial services for seven years, after he was found to have failed to act in the best interests of clients when advising on self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs).
ASIC found Toledo failed to understand his requirements for best interests duty compliance, did not provide appropriate advice to clients, failed to reasonably research what financial products would best suit clients, and did not identify what his clients needed advice with.
“Financial advisers have a clear duty to act in their clients' best interests. In some cases, advice to establish an SMSF for the sole purpose of purchasing a property may not be in a client's best interests, particularly where the SMSF borrows funds to enable the purchase,” said ASIC deputy chair, Peter Kell.
Toledo had been a representative of Sentinel Private Wealth in inner city Brisbane since March 2014.
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