ASIC suspends Sydney firm’s AFSL
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has once again suspended the Australian financial services licence (AFSL) of financial services firm, Divitarum Audax Pty Ltd, after the firm’s proposed deregistration in 2015.
Divitiarum Audax, which provided general financial product advice and held an AFSL for 13 years, was found to have breached its legal and licence obligations earlier this month.
ASIC suspended the Parramatta-based firm’s license on 8 May after it was found to have failed to lodge financial statements and audit reports for more than four years.
ASIC deputy chair, Peter Kell said: “Licensees are required to lodge financial statements and auditor's reports with ASIC to demonstrate their capacity to provide financial service”.
“Failure to comply with reporting obligations can be an indicator of a poor compliance culture. ASIC won't hesitate to act against licensees who do not meet these important requirements.”
ASIC had suspended Divitiarum Audax’s licence until November. If the firm does not lodge required documents by this date, ASIC will consider whether the licence should be cancelled.
Recommended for you
Australia’s largest licensee has seen the biggest number of adviser losses over the past week, while the expected wave of new entrants has boosted overall adviser numbers.
Iress has increased its forecast adjusted EBITDA by $5 million for the 2023/24 financial year in light of the sale of its platform business to Praemium and hinted at a return to dividend payments.
With just 30 per cent of Australians knowing their superannuation balance to the nearest $1,000, Findex has emphasised the role of financial advice in addressing the critical super knowledge gap.
New Insignia Financial CEO Scott Hartley has detailed the impact of the Godfrey Pembroke exit and the progress in resetting its financial advice model on its latest quarterly results.