A former AMP Financial Planning (AMPFP) adviser has been banned from providing financial services for five years after failing to manage conflicts of interest.
Darron Mink was an authorised representative of AMPFP and sole director of Pinnacle Financial and Investment Services in Newcastle, New South Wales.
ASIC found that Mink is not adequately trained or competent to provide financial services or engage in credit activities due to his conduct when he:
- Placed himself in a position of real conflict of interest and he failed to appropriately manage that conflict;
- Failed to provide appropriate advice to some clients;
- Provided advice documents that were confusing and did not reflect all of the advice provided; and
- Does not understand the importance of following a proper process in relation to obtaining client signatures.
The ban means he is prevented from providing any financial services, controlling a financial services business, performing any function involved in the carrying on of a financial services business and engaging in credit activities.
He was previously banned by ASIC in June 2023 and applied to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) for a review of ASIC’s decision and for stay and confidentiality orders. On 6 December 2023, he withdrew his application for stay and confidentiality orders.
AMP is just too big to fail.
ASIC have seen Dover off and countless financial advisers but the big end of town still gets to keep their license.
You have to wonder what the AMP compliance auditors were doing or perhaps not doing.
What does it matter – ASIC won’t do a thing. Makes you wonder what ASIC does right?