ASIC bans former stockbroking firm AR
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has banned a former client adviser and authorised representative of stockbroking and wealth management firm, Morgans Financial Limited.
Ryan Batros from Melbourne was prohibited from providing financial services for five years after an ASIC delegate found following a hearing that Batros breached financial services laws.
Batros was an authorised representative at Morgans between January 2012 and August 2014.
He was banned after an ASIC investigation into his conduct on 25 and 26 August 2014 in placing "execution only" orders on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) that he had received from clients to sell shares and options of Metals of Africa (MTA) when he possessed information about an upcoming capital-raising by MTA.
MTA announced the capital-raising to the ASX on 3 September, 2014.
Batros has applied to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for a review of ASIC's banning order.
ASIC imposed licensing conditions on Morgans Financial in November 2015 after it found several breach incidents over a number of years, and found flaws in its monitoring and supervising arrangements of representatives.
Recommended for you
ASIC has shared data on its licensing activity during the 2023–24 financial year, including how many were cancelled or suspended.
Australia’s largest financial advice licensee has led adviser growth over the past week, while 15 new entrants joined the industry.
A research paper has detailed whether individuals are more or less likely to change their investment decision when the advice is generated by human or by artificial intelligence, including any gender differences.
Sydney-based financial advice firm Sherlock Wealth has announced it is now operating under its own AFSL, one week after Andrew Sherlock took over as its chief executive.