The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has banned former Sydney-based dealer and portfolio manager at Regal Funds Management, Dylan Rands, for five years from providing financial services for his engagement in market manipulation.
The corporate regulator found that Rands had been engaged in manipulative trading in relation to Clearview Wealth shares and breached the Corporations Act when:
- Between December 2018 and June 2019, he entered into 112 uncommercial transactions which created, or were likely to create, an artificial price for the shares of Clearview Wealth; and
- On 27 March, 2018, and 31 May, 2019, he created a false or misleading appearance of active trading in Clearview Wealth.
Additionally, Rands’ pattern of trading involved purchasing Clearview Wealth shares which had the effect of increasing or restoring the Clearview Wealth share price shortly following a price fall.
According to ASIC, such trading displayed “an absence of commerciality, in circumstances where Rands’ objective was to exit the Clearview Wealth position he managed at Regal, which he ultimately sold in June 2019”.
The regulator found Rands was deemed “not adequately trained” or not competent to provide financial services and perform functions as an officer of an entity that carried on a financial services business, and he was likely to contravene financial services law.
He had the right to appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) for a review of ASIC’s decision.
In November 2019, Money Management reported that Regal Funds Management was under investigation by ASIC for an undisclosed issue.
