Esuperfund pays infringement notices for false/misleading advertising
Esuperfund Pty Ltd has paid $30,600 in penalties after the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) issued three infringement notices in relation to "false or misleading" online advertising.
In a statement released today, ASIC revealed that each of the infringement notices carried a penalty of $10,200.
The offending advertisements related to Esuperfund's business of providing self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF) establishment and administration services online to clients. Each advertisement ran between 31 January 2014 and 8 May 2014.
ASIC said it was was concerned that:
- one advertisement inaccurately represented that clients who engaged Esuperfund to establish an SMSF in 2014 would not incur any fees or costs in establishing or operating the SMSF
- an article titled ‘9 Benefits of Setting Up A Self Managed Super Fund' misrepresented the costs and benefits of SMSFs compared to retail and industry superannuation funds, and
- a third advertisement falsely represented that ASIC reviewed Esuperfund's operations annually to ensure that it complied with its licensing obligations.
ASIC Deputy Chairman Peter Kell said, "Setting up an SMSF is an extremely important financial decision and advertisements must accurately reflect the service being offered".
Esuperfund has removed the statements from its website.
The payment of an infringement notice is not an admission of a contravention of the ASIC Act consumer protection provisions. ASIC can issue an infringement notice where it has reasonable grounds to believe a person has contravened certain consumer protection laws.
AUTHOR
Nicholas O'Donoghue
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