ASIC commenced proceedings in the Supreme Court of Queensland against Richard Gardner, a credit representative and former financial adviser, and Advanced Wealth Financial Services.
It is seeking final orders to restrain Mr Gardner and Advanced Wealth Financial Services from carrying on a financial services business unless authorised.
ASIC said Mr Gardner and Advanced Wealth Financial Services were providing financial services with no licence or authorisation.
Following an investigation, ASIC alleged that:
- Mr Gardner recommended clients establish a self-managed superannuation fund to facilitate the purchase of a newly constructed investment property;
- Mr Gardner recommended specific properties for development to clients;
- Mr Gardner recommended specific developers or builders to construct the investment property;
- Mr Gardner received substantial commissions from the builder or developer used for the construction of the investment property.
ASIC noted Mr Gardner and Advanced Wealth Financial Services are not licensed nor authorised to provide financial services, only credit services.
The matter will be heard in the Supreme Court in Brisbane on 12 February 2019. ASIC said its investigation is continuing.
Here are the Verbatim words from a financial services lawyer I spoke to recently “ASIC don’t care if there’s one financial planner left in the whole country, their intent is to burden you guys with so much law and red tape that you decide to choose another profession and that way they can just regulate the banks and fine them billions of dollars over the coming years knowing they will get money out of them”
makes sense, as they are cancelling afsls left right centre of small players, or taking them to court to wipe them
So I really don’t understand, take this company who popped up on my facebook today.
http://theateampropertygroup.com.au/
Blatantly advertising financial training, boasting about goal and strategy planning and “diversifying” with property. They even go so far as to show returns clients at particular ages would achieve, not even trying to hide under a “general advice” banner.
I understand there’s crooks in our industry and they need to be pulled out, however these property guys are always spruiking and pushing their over inflated products which carry with them OBVIOUS conflicts of interest.
Their ads annoy me too. But it should be easy to understand. The Corporations Act as it relates to financial planners largely focuses on whether [b]financial product advice[/b] has been given, personal or general.
Property isn’t a financial product, so no coverage.
There’s a chance that they’ve breached some laws about false advertising, or maybe directors’ duties in the Corps Act (that are unrelated to the financial services parts and apply more broadly), but there really aren’t the resources allocated to that pro-actively (and I don’t think you’d want to bear the costs of ASIC looking at whether every corporation is meeting its Corps Act requirements down to the nth degree).
Asic setting themselves up for another fail.
Doesnt every Mortgage Broker do this? Interesting that ASIC can prosecute against advice for a non-regulated prooduct/industry (property). If that is the case why cant they prosecute every Real Estate Agent, Property spruiker, in Australia?
every mortgage broker, real estate agent, lawyer everyone is in on it. they even hold seminars about how to buy property in smsf
the housing market is collapsing and this is all going to end in tears as we already know
Lets face the fact – if he wasn’t a former adviser, ASIC would not be interested. Basically many Mortgage Brokers, Estate Agents and Accountants provide advice. How else does the average person get themselves geared into property. I stay away from recommend gearing to clients now days as the compliance is over the top. The only ones allowed asset based fees/commissions on geared amounts are Real Estate Agents, Mortgage – all with no advice.
I’m thoroughly appalled at ASICS behaviour prosecuting a former toddler and former baby. Bullies.
they haven’t got the balls or the brains to try anyone else. stupid public servants. if you were any good, you wouldn’t be a public servant.
only ever small players never the banks, new year same story.
pretty standard fare really – I could point you to half a dozen mortgage brokers that operate as wealth creation guru’s – I think you would have to tie the miscreants up with a bow and a flashing light for ASIC to find them – well at the very least – provide a google maps set of directions
actually the worse one’s are accountants. as traditional accounting work dries up and there is enormous downward pressure on fees they have to look elsewhere jamming clients into an smsf property is fig jam for them
Over what time frame was this occurring?
No mention of this detail.
How long did it take ASIC to realise this particular operation was acting without an AFSL licence ?
How is this guy different to the thousands of real estate agents, accountants, wealth coaches, and property developers who do the same thing?
Why is this clown described as a “financial adviser”? He was a mortgage broker turned property spruiker nothing more!!
easy to blame a financial adviser that narrative is easily explained and more importantly easily accepted
You have got to be kidding. What about EVERY realestate agent. Some realestate agents even have videos of them saying that investment properties can be bought in an SMSF.
What about all those off the plan apartment sales people. What about accountants who have been doing this for years.
Poor Richard. ASIC will try to take you for everything and destroy your life. If you were a bank they would only get you to make a contribution to a charity to the amount of one days profits.
You need to hire the lawyers BT and westpac used. They got away with providing personal advice under general advice and skirting the Best Interests Duty because of their deep pockets.
Mr Garner inst alone in such practices. The are an abundance of Accountants (without authorities) who recommend the establishment of SMSF and receive kick backs from property providers. I’m not saying all Accountants as many do a fantastic job. This area does however require more attention from ASIC and other authorities to stamp out such practices.
I would be surprised if many accountants received property developer kickbacks. But thousands of accountants do receive conflicted SMSF remuneration. If you recommend a client set up an SMSF then charge them a fee for the SMSF administration, that is conflicted remuneration. And if you don’t operate under an AFSL, the SMSF recommendation itself is illegal.
Oh please, accountants are taking commissions and do not disclose from property agents all time, seriously what are you living under a mushroom??
ASIC you should be ashamed of yourself for calling your self a regulator and allowing this for years!!
I’d be hard pressed to see where conflicted remuneration exists in a sales cycle when a client knowingly pays you directly for setting something up. Isn’t that just sales?
Off the plan sales people offer kick backs to the referrer. Anyone, including accountants, are able to be paid these kickbacks. Financial Planners are the only ones who have to disclose it in their SOA and act in the client’s best interest, everyone else can do whatever they want and recieve whatever kickback they can get.
It’s great to see daily actions against poor adviser practice but when will we see ASIC start prosecuting the big names – the NAB, CBA, Westpac, ANZ, AMP, Suncorp, Freedom, BlueInc, ClearView, etc? Where do we see daily action on them? Or do they, like bullies, just focus on those that don’t have the legal resources to defend themselves.
only always small groups, asic destroy them drag it, long investigations then court… i feel for the guys family. dover,port phillip, all smaller players
Feel for the guys family? Really – What about the clients
ASIC keeps any fine.
Did dover actually do anything to hurt any clients? No. They just didnt have the deep pockets and political clout of the banks. Closong Dover down actually hurt clients more than letting them continue to practice
Again the queensland white shoe brigade . Property developers giving kickbacks to Financial planners should be banned . A staple of some QLd planners earnings even now I believe ????
Hooray for ASIC. Now please don’t regulate REAL financial advisers with forests of documentation regarding conflict of interest around the spruiking of specific property, commissions on the sale of said property, kickbacks from developer, commissions on the mortgages, etc. This lot had no licence, career or reputation to protect! Ps FASEA may want to look at making courses applicable to unlicensed advise givers…Ethics spring to mind…
I could name a dozen companies on the Sunshine Coast which operate under the label of ‘wealth coaches’ who partake in all four of the bullet points above. I guess those who can’t do, teach. ASIC needs to start taking a wider view if it truly wants to clean up the professional services industry.
I hope you have made reports to ASIC.
Should have known better. NEXT!!