Adviser permanently banned over dishonest fees
A New South Wales financial adviser has been permanently banned from providing financial services by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), as the regulator continues its crackdown on dishonest conduct by financial advisers.
ASIC found that Brenton John Poynter, who was an authorised representative of Charter Financial Planning from June 2010 to June 2016, dishonestly charged clients almost $67,000 in fees.
He charged for the fees in his position as a provider of financial advice regarding superannuation products to elderly clients.
From January 2015 to June 2016, Poynter took $39,700 in fees from ten clients’ investment accounts for advice which he had not provided. His personal benefit from these transactions was over $25,000.
Poynter also directed three of Charter’s clients to deposit a total of $26,990 into his persona bank account, for financial services that he had again not provided.
The dishonestly charged advice fees have since been refunded to the relevant clients by Charter and Poynter’s practice, following an internal investigation of the adviser’s conduct.
ASIC’s decision was part of the regulator’s Wealth Management Project, and Poynter would have the right to appeal for a merits review of the ban to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.
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.
