The securities regulator has filed proceedings in the Federal Court against Oxford Investments and its director, Steven Moore, to stop it from providing unlicensed financial product advice.
It is alleged that between January 2004 and March 2006, Oxford Investments conducted training courses in trading futures contracts on the Sydney Futures Exchange. More than a dozen people attended the courses, and it is believed that several of the attendees agreed to pay nearly $40,000 for the training and training materials.
According to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), Moore made recommendations that were intended to influence attendees’ decisions on trading in securities or derivatives, even though neither Moore nor his company has ever held an Australian Financial Services Licence.
It is further alleged that Moore and Oxford Investments engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct by way of various false representations made by Moore to course attendees.
ASIC is seeking court orders restraining both Moore and Oxford from carrying on any business of providing financial advice in the future. ASIC is also seeking declarations that Moore’s conduct breached the consumer protection provisions of the ASIC Act.
