Addwealth Financial Services has been forced to adhere to additional requirements under its Australian financial services licence after surveillance of its advice business by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
The regulatory body was concerned that the practice may have failed to provide advice that was appropriate to the circumstances of certain clients.
There was also concern that Addwealth may have failed to have in place adequate arrangements for the management of conflicts of interest.
Under the tougher conditions, the company has appointed an external compliance consultant who will report to ASIC over the next 15 months, ensuring overall compliance arrangements are met. This includes the quality of advice given to clients with respect to their investment in the Addwealth Achiever Fund, ASIC stated.
According to ASIC commissioner Peter Kell, ASIC will seek the imposition of more stringent licence conditions where there are concerns that advice may not be meeting the required standards.
