The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has confirmed that via its Consumer Advisory Panel it provided funding for a Financial Adviser Standards and Ethics Authority (FASEA) code of ethics submission by two Griffith University Academics.
Giving testimony to a Parliamentary Committee, ASIC commissioner, Danielle Press said the submission had not been directly funded by ASIC but via the Consumer Advisory Panel.
Under questioning from NSW Liberal back-bencher, Jason Falinski, Press insisted that ASIC had not oversighted or reviewed the submission.
Falinski asked whether it was appropriate for a Government regulator to be paying for a submission to another Government body.
The Griffith University academics Dr Hugh Breakey and Professor Charles Sampford notes on the bottom of page one that “this submission was developed with input from members of ASIC’s Consumer Advisory Panel. It also incorporates issues raised in the FASEA Consumer Forum of June 29, 2018”.
The submission lodged by Breakey and Sampford is regarded as having been supportive of the approach adopted in the controversial Standard 3 of the FASEA code of ethics while a separate submission lodged by CHOICE is regarded as having been equally supportive.
