ASIC imposes licence conditions on wealth management firm
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has imposed new licence conditions on retail stockbroking and wealth management firm, Morgans Financial Limited, after it found several breach incidents over recent years.
ASIC's surveillance found shortcomings in Morgans' arrangements for monitoring and supervising its representatives, exacerbated by its vast representative and branch network. The firm has around 500 authorised representatives.
ASIC said Morgans had agreed to the new conditions on its Australian financial services licence, imposed on it after surveillance on its compliance with financial services laws, and in particular, the general obligations of financial services licensees.
The corporate regulator said it was also concerned about Morgans' internal controls for the handling of confidential, market-sensitive information such as restrictions on staff trading, information barriers and managing conflicts of interest in corporate transactions.
Morgans have agreed to appoint an independent compliance consultant to review their compliance measures. The consultant will report their findings and provide recommendations early next year.
Morgans are also required to advise ASIC of any recommendations they do not intend to implement and provide reasons for the decision.
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