AAT upholds SMSF adviser ban
Perth self-managed super fund (SMSF) adviser Wayne Blazejczyk will have his ban upheld as the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) has sided with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
Blazejczyk was banned in December 2019 from providing financial services for five years for failing to meet best interests obligations.
He had sought a review of the scope of ASIC’s banning order and considered that it should be limited to only prohibiting him from providing personal advice to retail clients.
However, he did not contest ASIC’s findings that he had breached a financial services law and conceded that a five-year banning period was appropriate.
The AAT was not satisfied that a limited banning order of the type proposed by Blazejczyk would provide sufficient general deterrence, nor was it satisfied that the proposed limited banning order would promote consumer confidence and professionalism in the financial services industry.
It was also not satisfied that a permissive banning order, which would allow Blazejczyk to engage in specific financial services activities, would be adequate to promote the protective objectives of the licensing regime.
The AAT affirmed ASIC’s decision to ban Blazejczyk on 2 November, 2020.
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