According to a statement released by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), the corporate regulator found that Jeneve Matai, an authorised representative and financial adviser of National Advice Solutions from 4 July 2019 to 2 December 2022, did not act in the best interests of clients, that his advice was not appropriate, and that he prioritised his interests (or that of his AFS licensee) over the interests of the client.
The banning took effect on 13 December 2022, ASIC said.
Mr Matai was also the head of advice for the superannuation team and assistant training manager at a corporate authorised representative of National Advice Solutions.
While Mr Matai applied to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) seeking a review and stay of ASIC’s decision, the AAT refused the stay application on 22 February 2023, but a hearing date has yet to be set for the substantive review of ASIC’s decision.
According to ASIC, Mr Matai provided advice in accordance with what his licensee called a “layered advice” strategy whereby the advice was separated into pre-determined topics, irrespective of the client’s personal circumstances, goals or advice needs.
“The layered advice strategy was a process by which clients were provided with superannuation and insurance advice separately, even though the insurance was held within the superannuation fund,” ASIC said.
“ASIC found that by using the layered advice strategy, the advice was templated, inappropriately scoped, and Mr Matai failed to identify or consider the relevant circumstances of the clients when preparing the advice. This included when recommending the client participate in an ongoing advice arrangement,” it continued.
Moreover, the corporate regulator also found that although Mr Matai was not responsible for the design and implementation of the layered advice strategy, as a financial adviser, he was required to comply with financial services laws, and as such could not assign his obligations to others.
“Mr Matai also audited the files of other financial advisers on an as needed basis, and ASIC found that he failed to identify issues that a competent person auditing the files would have identified,” ASIC said.
The banning of Mr Matai is part of ASIC’s ongoing efforts to improve standards across the financial advice industry, the regulator highlighted.
ASIC had previously taken administrative action against National Advice Solutions and its responsible managers.
