Adviser gets two years in wilderness for recommending Lifestyle
TheAustralian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC)has handed out another sentence in relation to the Lifestyle Property Group, a failed property investment group which has resulted in a number of advisers jailed, banned and fined over the last two years.
ASIC has accepted an enforceable undertaking from the sole director of Bell's Financial Services, Robert Campbell, stating that he will not carry on a financial services business with respect to financial products including shares, managed investment schemes and other similar investment products, for two years.
These actions follow an ASIC investigation into Campbell and his company’s part in promoting investments in the Melbourne-based Lifestyle group.
ASIC found that Campbell breached the Corporations Act by giving investment advice to clients without being appropriately licensed, marketing securities recommendations without a reasonable basis, and failing to disclose to clients the commissions or fees that Bell's Financial Services would receive as a result of recommending investments in the Lifestyle Group Property Development Partnerships.
In August 2000, ASIC successfully applied to the Federal Court for the appointment of a liquidator to 54 companies within the Lifestyle group following investigations during which a number of accountants and financial planners who promoted the group’s schemes were banned from acting as investment advisers.
Just last month, ASIC sentenced former Lifestyle group managing director Jon McKenney and former employee John Caust to a total of seven years jail after the pair pleaded guilty to charges relating to their roles in obtaining $5,466,970.72 from investors to place in residential development projects undertaken by the Lifestyle.
As part of the undertaking, Campbell has agreed to complete courses in relation to ethics, compliance and investment planning prior to applying for an Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL), or applying to act as a representative of an AFSL.
Recommended for you
The top five licensees are demonstrating a “strong recovery” from losses in the first half of the year, and the gap is narrowing between their respective adviser numbers.
With many advisers preparing to retire or sell up, business advisory firm Business Health believes advisers need to take a proactive approach to informing their clients of succession plans.
Retirement commentators have flagged that almost a third of Australians over 50 are unprepared for the longevity of retirement and are falling behind APAC peers in their preparations and advice engagement.
As private markets continue to garner investor interest, Netwealth’s series of private market reports have revealed how much advisers and wealth managers are allocating, as well as a growing attraction to evergreen funds.
