Advisers avoid ASIC enforcement spotlight
Financial planners may have found themselves front and centre at the Royal Commission but they were notably largely absent from the Australian Securities and Investment Commission’s (ASIC’s) latest Enforcement Update covering the period between July and December, last year.
The update, published by ASIC yesterday, pointed to plenty of issues around credit providers and provided a case study related to Prime Trust, but financial planners remained unmentioned.
The report noted that in the six months between 1 July 2018 and 31 December 2018, ASIC resolved 56 financial services-related outcomes and that as at 1 January 2019, ASIC had 15 criminal and 66 civil financial services-related matters underway that had not achieved a final result.
The report said that in 2019 ASIC would be looking closely at misconduct involving AFS licensees – an area of particular interest to the Royal Commission”.
“Where appropriate, ASIC will refer briefs of evidence of criminal breaches to the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (CDPP) or commence civil penalties or other civil action in the courts,” it said.
“We are also focusing on responsible lending breaches, as well as the sale of inappropriate products to consumers, which can potentially cause them harm.”
Recommended for you
Government has introduced a bill to Parliament to legislate the first stream of the QAR reforms.
ASIC now has a 1:1 ratio when it comes to court success in the enforcement of crypto activities and more action is expected as Treasury seeks to introduce a regulatory framework.
A leading governance body has hit out at “specialist interest groups proposing ad hoc law reform” when it comes to reforms of financial services legislation and believes an independent body is needed.
The release of ALRC’s final report into financial services legislation has highlighted financial advice as a “significant” focus as it seeks to reduce costs and help advisers understand their obligations, alongside the Quality of Advice Review.
