ASIC bans former Genesys adviser for 10 years

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has welcomed early reporting of misconduct by financial services licensees and banned a former Genesys financial adviser for 10 years for allegedly conducting unauthorised and related party activities. ASIC said it had banned the financial adviser, Mark Leigh Clifton of Corlette, NSW, after being informed about his activities by Genesys which had then fully cooperated with the regulator.

It said Clifton had been an authorised representative of Genesys from 14 June, 2005 to 27 February, this year, and that prior to that he had been a representative of Garrisons. Clifton had also operated a separate accounting practice trading as Berry Clifton Partners.

It said Genesys had terminated Clifton’s authorisation as a representative after becoming aware that he was operating a private investment trust called Phalona Unit Trust in the Hunter region of NSW, which was not on Genesys’ authorised product list and that he had apparently transferred most of the funds in the trust to himself and a related entity.

ASIC said that a total of seven clients, mainly through their superannuation funds, invested $1.23 million in the trust from 2001 to 2003.

It said Clifton did not inform his clients that most of the funds in the trust would be transferred to himself and a related entity. Instead, clients were misled into believing that the investments of the trust were secure, the returns were guaranteed and that the trust would invest in predominantly smaller companies.