A financial adviser who was banned by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) for five years and who was expelled by the Financial Planning Association (FPA) was only “suspended” by the Association of the Financial Advisers (AFA).
AFA chief executive, Phil Kewin was asked by Senior Counsel assisting the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry, Rowena Orr QC, what it would take for the AFA to actually expel a member.
She asked whether expulsion from the AFA was not something that would automatically flow from someone being banned by ASIC for five years.
“Despite that fact [that the adviser had been banned] the AFA seemed unsure of what to do,” Ms Orr said.
The adviser at the centre of the Royal Commission questioning is Darren Tindall who was banned by ASIC for five years in early 2017 following an ASIC investigation that found he had failed to comply with financial services laws.
Orr asked Kewin: “If an ASIC banning order is not enough, what does it take to get expelled from the AFA”.
Kewin responded that Tindall’s membership had been suspended and that he was not practicing.
Asked whether the FPA shared information on expelled members with the AFA, Kewin stated: “not that I am aware of”.
