The successful management of conflict of interests is a crucial part of any organisation. Conflicts of interest can arise between employees and their employers and representatives, and between an organisation and its customers. Conflicts of interest can arise even though there is no financial loss and regardless of the motivations of the people and companies[…]
Pursuant to the ASIC Act, ASIC has the ability to demand the production of documents in the following circumstances: in the performance of ASIC’s functions generally; to ensure compliance with the Corporations legislation; in relation to an alleged or suspected contravention of the law; and for the purpose of a formal investigation. The notice will[…]
A recent $1 million civil penalty imposed on a Melbourne-based financial advice firm should put the industry on notice regarding the perils of not fostering a strong compliance culture. In March 2017, the Federal Court declared that NSG Services (now Golden Financial Group) committed multiple breaches of the Corporations Act, including NOT taking reasonable steps[…]
Under the Corporations Act 2001, financial product advice is classified as either “general advice” and “personal advice”.1 Personal advice is financial product advice that is given or directed to a person (including by electronic means) in circumstances where: The provider of the advice has considered one or more of the person’s objectives, financial situation and[…]
As with the Fact Find document covered in Part 1 of this blog series, limited regulatory and legislative guidance is available regarding the use of file notes during the advice process. Every organisation should put in place a good document/file notes creation and retention policy and ensure that all representatives are properly trained. What is[…]
The Government has confirmed that it will introduce an industry funding (user pays) model for ASIC through a cost recovery levy, commencing 1 July 2017. What does this mean for licence holders? That there will be increased costs is definite, unless one decides to give up one’s licence. Many AFS Licensees hold authorisations on their[…]
ASIC, pursuant to Section 920A of the Corporations Act, banned the Responsible Managers of a Brisbane based company. The company was a registered training organisation that also held an AFS licence. The company was found to have made misleading and deceptive representations about the performance of a real investment portfolio. It was falsely claimed that[…]
There is no definition of a responsible manager in the Corporations Act. It is a term developed by ASIC. In ASIC Regulatory Guide 105 the term responsible manager is used to label the person nominated by a licence applicant for the purposes of meeting ASIC’s competencies for licensing. As noted in the Regulatory Guide the[…]