The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has directed millions of dollars in so-called Community Benefits Payments to consumer advocacy groups over the past five years including $2.5 million to the Superannuation Consumers’ Centre but the greatest amount has gone to the Ecstra Foundation led by Paul Clitheroe.
Documentation tabled in response to members of the key Parliamentary Committee on Corporations and Financial Services had revealed where ASIC has chosen to direct money extracted from major financial institutions in the form of penalties, with Ecstra Foundation receiving well over $55 million.
Ecstra describes itself as a not-for-profit organisation committed to building the financial capability of all Australians and has acknowledged that its initial funding had been provided through the Community Benefit Payments schemes, meaning “we will always place consumers at the centre of our work”.
The ASIC document shows that Financial Counselling Australia has also been a significant beneficiary alongside the Ethics Centre, the Financial Rights Legal Centre, Consumer Action Law Centre and Financial Literacy Australia.
The document was produced by ASIC after questions were asked about why the Superannuation Consumers’ Centre, which is closely associated with consumer group Choice, was chosen to receive the $2.5 million raised in penalties from the superannuation businesses of ANZ and the Commonwealth Bank.
Comments
This is getting very very muddy indeed and last week we discover ASIC's submission to the Royal Commission regarding the abolition of grandfathered commission payments was inept, unfinished, ill prepared and based on scant evidence and analysis.
If there ever was a suspicion that there is a planned and strategic agenda directly against financial advisers by ASIC it is right now.
Not just advisers, mortgage brokers as well. Accountants after that just when their organisations think they have won.
It must be time to start a financial counselling service - oopps - foundation - in order to benefit so many others. Perhaps one that no-one has ever gets to hear about, so the money can be well directed to the benefit of others! Cynical??? Perhaps! With so much money going to helping others, why then are so many still financially illiterate? Perhaps there could be an investigation into the distribution of that money.
All those other organisations are associated with Choice as well.
So ASIC gives away money it could use to fund itself and instead levies wealthy ? financial planners forcing many out of business. Disgraceful 1
HI Chris F - you state "So ASIC gives away money it could use to fund itself..."
It's a tenant of the right wingers - that private enterprises can use money more efficiently that the public service.
This is just what the IPA would want - the state taking money and then distributing it to private enterprise. Nothing new to see here - it's been going this way since the 70's.
Is English your first language?
Here’s your chance advisers - has Ecstra been setup to counteract Choice and IFM/IFA?
Ecstra Foundation is obviously Jobs for the Girls and Boys and Clithero as indicated on the web site. Simply throwing money at research projects, etc . What the hell is AIC Funding this group for? Just cut our fees please and let us spend our money better serving out clients. And any money going to Choice simply Funds a far left wing political Agenda completely opposed to the Professional Advice Industry. What an appalling use of penalty money!!!!
Not in the least bit surprised to see that Choice got $2.5M. Interesting isnt it, when ex ASIC commissioner Peter Kell was the head of Choice before joining ASIC. Conflicted? No of course not when the shoe is on the other foot!! What a Joke!
He is now back working with Christopher Zinn of One Big Switch fame - you remember that, where anti commissions campaigners Choice received commissions for mortgages. They are now together on Adviser Ratings to do ... guess what? Build a platform that can be used to receive referral commissions.
This is all starting to make sense now.
Rainmaker originally provided Christopher Zinn with all the initial ten's of thousands of adviser details in order for him to input all this data directly into the initial Adviser Ratings site without requesting any authority whatsoever from any of the advisers as to whether they wanted to be included.
It was then an Opt-Out process if you wanted your details to be removed from the Adviser Ratings site.
It is understood there was a commercial transaction that took place for the access to the adviser information.
So, Adviser Ratings bought the information and then proceeded to use advisers details without authority to set up their business.
So, now Rainmaker owns Money magazine of which Paul Clitheroe is the Chairman.
Clitheroe is Chairman of Ecstra.
Ecstra is giving millions of dollars to entities such as Choice and other organisations that repeatedly attack financial advisers position and attempt to continuously undermine their valuable role.
Surprising, since Paul Clitheroe made much of his money from the provision of financial advice.
Has Ecstra provided any funding to Adviser Ratings ?
Peter Kell, previously from ASIC now appears to be involved at some level with Adviser Ratings.
Peter Kell previously headed up Choice.
And on and on and on it goes.
It would not be surprising for some to believe in conspiracy theories and how the game is being played from behind the scenes to subliminally undermine an industry by funding the opponents with tens of millions of corporate dollars.
There appears to be an obsessive movement driven by ideological agenda and masquerading as the consumer's best friend, but in reality could be funding their ideology through monies provided by the regulator who is of course obliged to be entirely impartial.
There are no conspiracies only greed and self-interest.
Come on Mike, there's an article for you.
Agreed MarxistOnslaught. Watergate relied on the courage of two Journalists. Where is the the hero coming from that will protect not only the interests of Financial Advisers, but more importantly their clients. Most future potential clients will be unable to afford our advice, even if all they want to scope in is life and income protection insurance. Wordy SoAs, Government levies, Professional Indemnity insurances and education costs are putting the costs of advice out of the reach of those who need it the most. Someone needs to tell the real story!
IPAC now part of AMP. I would welcome Mr Clithroe's comments today on why he and his business partners, chose AMP to purchase their business.
In The Age on August 2, 2006, Alan Kohler submitted an article titled:
" Our financial planning headache needs more than ASIC aspirin to ease the pain."
Interestingly, this article referred to the issues AMP were experiencing after an ASIC investigation in addition to the launch of the Financial Literacy Foundation of which Craig Dunn of AMP and Paul Clitheroe were members of the foundation's board.
Kohler stated " And by the way, the coincidence also highlights the potential conflict of interest of those in the retail financial services industry who sit on the foundation's board, including chairman Paul Clitheroe, executive director of AXA Asia pacific subsidiary, Ipac Securities. But then it's just another conflict among many in this industry".
ASIC should not be determining who receives these funds. The corruption that has developed within the bureaucracy is breathtaking. Not to mention they awarded their default super to AustralianSuper. Gobsmacking.
Chairman of not for profit Ecstra is Paul Clitheroe.
Chairman of "for profit" Money magazine is Paul Clitheroe.
Educating the public and enhancing their financial capability could potentially result in an upswing in the subscriptions to Money magazine due to people wanting to know more about their finances.
Interestingly, in amongst the current debate regarding commissions and the evil they create, the Money Magazine website under the heading of "Partnerships" states the following.
" Money Magazine has partnered with Australian comparison website RateCity to help you find the credit card, personal loan, home loan or car loan that may best suit you....
By connecting you with RateCity, Money magazine may receive payment of a COMMISSION or other fees for these referrals."
As more is revealed in relation to the relationships and connections between organisations, individuals, arrangements, funding from the regulator, networks etc, the more questions need to be asked as to who is really in control of massive amounts of money and what is really the agenda behind the control of these funds.
And word has it Choice are spending millions, which would include the millions they received from ASIC, on IT for a referral website similar to RateCity. Even their financial statements a couple of years ago alluded to that.
Must be time to form a charitable foundation to support Financial Planners that are losing their businesses, homes, marriages and lives as a result of ASIC running out of paper and making incomplete information to Royal Commissions.
Add new comment