PIS gets thumbs up at conclusion of monitoring program

Professional Investment Services (PIS) has completed a nine month enhanced adviser monitoring program with the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) stating the group had "achieved a significant improvement in its compliance and audit functions".

PIS had begun the program after it had been handed an enforceable undertaking in late 2010, which had concluded in 2013 with ASIC then requiring an independent expert provide quarterly reports on the group's compliance and audit functions.

ASIC stated it has asked the independent expert to focus on PIS's compliance with regulatory requirements for personal advice, the effectiveness of its advice audit and pre-vet functions and its remediation of poor advice.

ASIC stated that PIS had worked closely with the regulator during the EU and monitoring process and that PIS had had demonstrated "a commitment to enhancing its financial advice risk management framework".

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Centrepoint Alliance managing director John de Zwart said PIS was required to measure 60 to 80 pieces of advice per month against a regulatory checklist but had also chosen to re-engineer each part of the business to provide more transparent advice and enhance compliance levels.

"Professional standards is an area we re-engineered while also making cultural changes, which were the largest shifts that were required, as we wanted to build the quality of the brand and maintain a sustainable business," he said.

He said ASIC was delighted with the progress and at the end of the monitoring program no Centrepoint entities had any regulatory actions underway or any non-standard ongoing licence conditions in force.