Ex-Westpac, Commonwealth FP adviser banned
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has banned Peter Jianchao Xu for five years from providing financial services following surveillance.
The Perth financial adviser was an authorised representative of Westpac Banking Corporation, Commonwealth Financial Planning, and most recently Neo Financial Solutions.
ASIC had reviewed a sample of Xu’s advice files and found he had failed to comply with financial services laws including best interests duty and the requirement to provide appropriate advice.
ASIC found Xu repeatedly recommended clients take out a new insurance policy instead of checking whether it would be beneficial if they remained with or modified their existing policies.
They had also found an ongoing failure by Xu to consider his clients’ personal circumstances when providing personal insurance advice, which led the risk of his clients’ being under-insured.
Xu had the right to appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for a review of ASIC’s decision.
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.
