The cancellation of the AFSL of Evermore Money Management is effective from 4 December 2018.
Evermore’s licence was cancelled after ASIC undertook a surveillance and found that a representative of Evermore had advised clients to set up a self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF) and invest their superannuation in Evermore.
ASIC found that Evermore failed to adequately monitor and supervise its representatives and manage conflicts of interest.
Furthermore, ASIC found that Evermore:
• failed to do all things necessary to ensure that the financial services covered by their licence were provided efficiently, honestly and fairly;
• did not have in place up to date policies and procedures to ensure representatives understood their obligations to act in clients’ best interests;
• did not lodge annual financial statements and auditor’s reports; and
• did not meet licence conditions requiring them to maintain base-level financial requirements.
Under the terms of cancellation, Evermore is required to wind down its financial services business by 20 December 2018.
The cancellation of Evermore’s AFSL is part of ASIC’s ongoing efforts to improve standards across the financial services industry.
AFS licensees are responsible for making sure that their authorised representatives are aware of their obligations. This means that licensees must ensure that their policies and procedures are up to date and comply with the law. They must also have robust procedures in place to check that their authorised representatives are complying with those policies.
looks like nearly all of the Evermore Money guys have ended up at Boston Reed under the watchful eye of Peter morrision dowd.
Hang on, so the adviser recommended the client setup SMSF and invest money in the actual AFSL company? or in Evermore run investments? Because the latter happens every day for most AFSL + investment companies as far as I am aware?
And herin lies the problem. Small advisers and firms get wound up but the big players are treated as being too big to fail.
On the Dover issue yes no complaints. Not one. But for ASIC this is not the big issue. As reported in this magazine in June 2018 ASIC has said its real reasons for shutting down Dover were never made public. ASIC wanted to shut down Dover as far back as 2016: senior Dover executives were up to no good, rorting the super system, preying on poor clients. ASIC had all the evidence.
Readers will be shocked. It’s unbelievably bad.
All will be made public in ASIC v Dover, in the Federal Court soon. It will be a ripper of a case.
The Dover team will be back in the headlines in 2019. It won’t be pretty.
Sounds like an Industry Fund mate.
Can’t wait to see it.
Evermore has one rogue adviser recommending inappropriate investments and have their license cancelled. Fair enough?????
Commonwealth bank enable clients to mortgage their houses to invest in high risk geared share portfolios (through Storm financial), allow people to launder money for terrorists and pressure doctors to change their diagnosis so they can avoid insurance claims, plus a whole range of other indescressions which we both know and don’t know about and don’t get in any trouble at all.
A 2 million dollar fine for CBA is half a days profit. This equals no punishment. Finding an adviser $100,000 for recommending a inappropriate strategy will ruin that advisers life and cost a years profit. Which I’m not against because it’s easy to recommend appropriate strategies but just make the fines a percentage of revenue so that the big players are actually held accountable
Whats happened to the AR who made the recommendations to establish SMSFs to invest into evermore? Surely ASIC are investigating that also? And now that the dealergroup has been shut down whats happened to the clients money?
I heard that it had nothing to do with the advisers in total but one firm and the owner of the AFSL and for 2 years they had been under investigation, I take it that these things take time but to do it before Xmas I feel for those good advisers in that group
Interesting. Does anyone know where all of these ARs have gone. This would be ASICs next duck in the firing line.
These guys were criminals yet Dover got shut down for a document which never did any harm and didn’t result in any client loses. Awesome job ASIC…Merry Xmas to you and your defined benefit pensions.
An insider has confirmed that despite all of the negative publicity since the Royal Commission, Dover is yet to receive a complaint about their ‘Client Protection Policy’. Good enough reason for ASIC to shut them down and severely disrupt the businesses of 400 advisers.
ASIC could end up with a lot of egg on their face over their decision to make an example of Dover. It could end up being a very expensive mess if advisers start demanding questions of the regulator. Be patient… this will all play out.
many ex dover advisers are either on the dole queue and or sleeping rough. thanks a lot asic for needlessly shutting them down when the banks go about their business without an issue
for those ex dover advisers, keep going remember the inspirational story of chris gardner you might be homeless (just like him) but you are not hopeless
keep going!!
There wasn’t that many of them. Appears some are heading to a place called Boston Reed.
Strange one this. ASIC claim they did not have in place up to date policies and procedures to ensure representatives understood their obligations to act in clients’ best interests.
Yet one of the representatives is an SMSF Association award winner.
Something not reconciling here.
I feel for the advisers that were under the licensee who were doing the right thing and had no idea this was the case.
How is it that we have not heard anything about these problems before this.
If this causes a AFSL cancellation and on my reading this appears to be one adviser and a few other issues from a corporate perspective, how is it that CBA, AMP et all still have their AFSL licences?
To be fair, a lot of the dealings ASIC have directly with AFSL’s goes unnoticed and unreported. What astounds me is that they failed to lodge annual statements and auditors reports, I’m self-licensed and petrified of ASIC, why invite scrutiny?
We are fastidious with our compliance and take it extremely seriously, after all its my asset and livelihood, why would I torch that?
Obviously terrible conduct here but any worse than widespread issues at AMP and the banks?
I wonder why all these small AFSLs get closed down immediately, yet the AFSLs operated by the Big 6 get to continue with impunity…..
I heard on an interview that if the Big4 lost their AFSL they would lose their banking licence as well. Not sure if that’s correct but it answers a lot questions if it is. Makes it a 2 class system.
ASIC should have been doing this years ago. If they had been doing their Job the industry wouldn’t be in this situation. Why is it ASIC bring out the big stick only after being grilled by the RC?