ASIC bans ex-Spectrum director for six years
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has banned former director of Spectrum Wealth Advisers, Mark Schroeder, from providing financial services for six years due to numerous compliance failures.
The regulator found that Schroeder who was Spectrum’s most senior manager and the person responsible for its day-to-day activities was involved in the company’s contraventions of financial services laws.
According to the ASIC, he was “likely to contravene a financial services law in future” due to his responsibility and involvement into Spectrum’s past failures as well as due to his poor understanding of the obligations of providers of financial services, particularly regarding compliance matters.
Under his leadership. The licensee failed to audit its representatives on a regular basis and ensure that they were properly trained and competent.
Spectrum also lacked sufficient human and technological resources to meet its licence obligations, the regulator found.
“'ASIC expects that people holding a position of responsibility with an Australian financial services (AFS) licensee, particularly directors and responsible managers, understand the obligations of financial services providers and make every effort to ensure compliance,” ASIC’s commissioner, Danielle Press, said.
Spectrum ceased trading and its parent company, Freedom Insurance Group, applied to ASIC to cancel Spectrum’s AFS licence.
Schroeder is continuing to seek a review of ASIC’s decision at the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.
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