Mr Schroeder was a director, chief executive, responsible manager and a key person for Spectrum, ASIC said in a statement.
The corporate regulator found that Mr Schroeder, as the most senior manager at Spectrum and the person primarily responsible for its activities and day-to-day management, was involved in Spectrum’s contraventions of financial services laws.
ASIC said it also found that Mr Schroeder is likely to contravene a financial services law in future because of his involvement and responsibility for Spectrum’s failures and because of his poor understanding of the obligations of providers of financial services, particularly regarding compliance matters.
Following a surveillance from ASIC, it identified serious concerns about Spectrum’s compliance with its obligations as a licensee, and that it failed to do all things necessary to ensure that financial services were provided efficiently, honestly and fairly.
Further, ASIC found that Spectrum did not take reasonable steps to ensure its representatives complied with the law.
The licensee failed to audit its representatives regularly and ensure that its representatives were adequately trained and competent.
In addition, Spectrum also did not have sufficient human and technological resources to meet its licence obligations.
Shortly after being issued with a notice of hearing, ASIC said Spectrum ceased trading and its parent company, Freedom Insurance Group, applied to cancel its AFS licence.
“ASIC expects that people holding a position of responsibility with an AFS licensee, particularly directors and responsible managers, understand the obligations of financial services providers and make every effort to ensure compliance,” said ASIC commissioner Danielle Press.
Mr Schroeder’s banning has been recorded on ASIC’s publicly Banned and Disqualified Persons Register. He is continuing to seek a review of its decision at the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.
This is ABSOLUTELY the right call by ASIC. As a ex-Risk BDM I dealt with him personally and Spectrum and was alarmed and appalled by his no-SOA ‘general advice’ approach to Advised Life Risk products. He used to sponsor and turn up to Mortgage Broker functions and spruik becoming an adviser with Spectrum and how ‘easy’ it was the diversify and sell Life Risk products with no advice background or training. I confronted him one day about it and he was chanting sections of the law and how his interpretation was that it all fell under general advice. I have also in the past trained new Spectrum ‘advisers’.. Instead of the conversation being product specifics and features, I was teaching them what each of the types of cover was and how it would protect a client which was like teaching a brand new client.
The insurance executives all KNEW how dodgey Spectrum as an AFSL was, but it was big inflows of new business (albeit no quality) and that is all they cared about and THAT is why I am no longer in the industry. ASIC should next look at those companies who did business with Spectrum and prosecute accordingly.
How accurate your comments are. Fortunately as a risk BDM, I was one of the lucky ones who could turn around and say “so mate, I can’t help you”.
Mortgage brokers have come in for more scrutiny on the lending side in recent times, but the widespread practice of mortgage brokers without an AR or AFSL advising on life & disability insurance has been largely ignored by the regulators.
This has been a long time coming. Those fine advisers of the LICG no doubt happy to keep him on. Cleaning out the right people here.
And the fine advisers of the UFAA.
Dodgy Brother Incorporated.
I don’t disagree but still no insto execs banned ASIC? They openly admitted wrongdoing at the Royal Commission so what more do you need to ban them? Its still all about the small easy targets losing their jobs.
I don’t wish to state details publicly because it would be based on hearsay (albeit directly from a person I trust), but suffice to say there have been *very* unflattering stories circulating about Schroeder since 2009. If you’re looking for an innocent person to defend against big bad ASIC, I’d suggest it shouldn’t be this character.
Would the names Wright Gobal Investments, iPraxis and Trio Capital appear in those stroies?
What – no mention of UFAA IFA?
What is going to happen to the UFAA? Is Mark going to keep running this?
new day same headlines. well done asic… keep attacking small players ruining family lives. cant wait till 2024 be hardly any advisers left. oh and don’t worry guys more royal commission changes be coming.
Another piecemeal offering to the media by ASIC. Meanwhile, the big banks and AMP get away with slap on the wrist. Shame shame shame ASIC. You really are a puppet of big business.
I have not dealt with Spectrum Wealth Advisers but have been keeping tabs on what the behaviour of ASIC (and APRA) would be following the Royal Commission. My take on it by reading the many headlines is that ASIC is targeting the small and medium sized businesses more harshly then the big end of town. My opinion is that they are doing the bidding of the large institutions by going after their competition. If banning someone for 6 years is ASIC’s decision, well by that metric the banks and large financial and wealth management companies who behaved badly (far worse than what Spectrum is accused of) should be shut down and the directors put in prison. You have to call a spade a spade. ASIC and other regulators are just as much to blame as companies accused of poor behaviour as they were told and ignored it. They only decided to act when the findings of the Royal Commission were released. As far as I am concerned ASIC, APRA and RBA are behaving like the Financial Gestapo of Government.
It was only a matter of time. An ex AMP FP that was banned due to his licensee’s incompetence. Provided him the highest compliance score & awards. No written or formal warning, no retraining and monitoring, however, complained to ASIC after he commenced his business. They wanted him to be the escape goat, it turns out other planners were doing the same thing & It turns out its AMPFP’s fault after all. Run exec Run!
could not have happened to a nicer guy! W*****R!
Finally!!!
It took them 9 years to finally make this call!! ?♂️?♂️?♂️
Good to see, more to come from Rimbal and Concilium?
How is anybody surprised at this?
No-one who has had any dealing with Spectrum will be surprised. Hopefully ASIC’s investigation will extend to some of the former Spectrum “Advisers” who were more interested in money than doing what was in the client’s best interest.
What about ALI Group who are still out there flogging personal insurances via mortgage brokers who are not licensed to do so…all to obtain further commissions and kick backs to the aggregators.
A very good point re mortgage brokers. Just like accountants, real estate agents, and super fund employees, they have been allowed to give dodgy unlicensed financial advice with complete ASIC immunity.
It’d be nice to know exactly what the “serious concerns about Spectrum’s compliance” were.
Ive heard from advisers who had peers there that the they either allowed or turned a blind eye to all advice being done as general advice … no soa’s
Cool, now start lookin at NAB,CBA,ANZ Westpac & AMP too
…and Industry Super
Agree how can QSuper advertise that they do not charge brokerage on switching investment options within their funds…….I heard this several times on the weekend and was stunned.
is that because they don’t charge brokerage on switching investment options?
except QInvest clearly discloses in their FSG that QSuper pays for up to personal advice consultation with intra-fund fees. Nice work guys.