Gold Coast adviser banned for pushing own products
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has banned a former Gold Coast adviser and property developer from the financial services industry for 10 years after investigations into the advice she gave relating to investments in her own group of companies.
ASIC accepted an enforceable undertaking from Susanne Rae Percival, who was banned from being a financial adviser, licensee or authorised representative of a licensee following an ASIC investigation into financial advice she provided to retail investors as an authorised representative of AAA Shares.
The advice related to investments in a number of investment companies known as the IC Group, which operated principally under her management and control.
ASIC’s investigation revealed that Percival failed to adequately explain the basis of her advice, take into account many investors’ personal circumstances, advise many clients of the unsecured nature and risks of the proposed investments, or of her own interest in the financial products she was recommending.
Percival also failed to provide clients transferring superannuation benefits into self-managed superannuation funds with the required comparative information regarding the switch costs and obligations associated with conducting a self-managed superannuation fund.
ASIC also found that in a number of instances, Percival did not issue Statements of Advice and, where they were issued, they were lacking in the prescribed information.
ASIC accepted the enforceable undertaking as an alternative to pursuing an administrative banning of Percival under section 920A of the Corporations Act.
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