ASIC bans two from providing financial services

Two people have been banned from providing financial services for five and three years respectively, following separate investigations by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.

Ian Weaver from Queensland will not be providing financial services for the next five years, after the regulator found he was providing financial advice without basis or disclosing relevant benefits, including commissions, to his clients.

He had also made false and misleading statements and had engaged in deceptive conduct, according to ASIC.

Weaver had arranged margin loans on behalf of certain clients and recommended placement of the funds into an account that provided an investor-directed portfolio service, recommending certain asset allocations.

ASIC found that these were all regulated financial products and that Weaver was not compliant with the law in regards to advice relating to the products.

Meanwhile, Tracy Burnell from Victoria had been banned from providing financial services for three years for carrying on a financial services business without a licence.

Her firm, Protection & Collection, was not licensed between 2009 and 2011, during which she promoted and developed financial products, entered into agreements and arranged for clients to acquire those products.

ASIC stated the decision to ban Weaver and Burnell was consistent with its focus on ‘quality of advice’, which would be targeted by the ASIC in 2011.