ASIC has cancelled the Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) of a financial advice firm based in Sydney, NSW.
This is the first AFSL cancellation that ASIC has enacted since the start of the year.
LRA Corporate saw its licence cancelled from 3 February 2025 as the corporate regulator became aware that the firm had ceased to operate a financial services business.
Its AFSL, which it had held for 20 years, authorised the North Sydney-based firm to deal and provide financial product advice to retail and wholesale clients. According to ASIC Connect, the firm was previously known as Sanctuary Glen Ltd.
ASIC has the power to cancel or suspend an AFSL if the licensee ceases to carry on a financial services business under section 915B of the Corporations Act.
LRA Corporate has the right to appeal to the Administrative Review Tribunal for a review of ASIC’s decision.
Previous ASIC data covering FY24 shows 269 AFSLs were cancelled or suspended during the year. Some 29 AFSLs were cancelled by ASIC, 212 were cancelled at the firm’s request, and 28 were suspended. The figure was an 18 per cent decrease from 2022–23.
A financial advice firm based in Western Australia called Macgill Financial Services had its AFSL cancelled on 29 November for the same reason as LRA Corporate, while individual Patrick Joseph O’Neill saw his AFSL cancelled on 9 November after he failed to meet his AFSL obligations.
At the end of 2024, Sanlam Private Wealth admitted to breaching its AFSL obligations and had provided a court enforceable undertaking to ASIC, requiring a review of its compliance processes by an independent expert.
Sanlam Private Wealth is the Australian arm of South African firm Sanlam Group, and has held an AFSL since August 2009 to provide services to retail and wholesale clients.
The corporate regulator said it had uncovered concerns that the firm had breached its general obligations, including failing to adequately supervise its authorised representatives (ARs) and corporate authorised representatives (CARs). At the time of the inaction, Sanlam had as many as 71 ARs and 42 CARs, and held them under their AFSL since 2019.
