The regulator began proceedings in the Supreme Court of New South Wales seeking interim and final orders to prevent property investment promoter Park Trent Properties Group Pty Ltd from carrying on an unlicensed financial services business.
Park Trent’s business promotes the use of SMSFs to purchase investment property, ASIC stated.
ASIC alleges and is seeking declarations that Park Trent is unlawfully carrying on a financial services business without an AFSL.
The regulator stated it understands that Park Trent has advised at least 500 members of the public to establish and switch funds into an SMSF, with the funds then used to purchase investment properties that are owned or promoted by Park Trent companies.
In addition, ASIC is seeking orders requiring Park Trent to notify current and former clients about the proceedings and to post a notice regarding ASIC’s proceedings on its website.
“Collectively, Australians hold over $1.85 trillion worth of assets in superannuation funds, with $557 billion held in SMSFs. It is important when making decisions regarding superannuation to consider obtaining appropriate advice from an authorised financial adviser,” said ASIC commissioner Greg Tanzer.
“Dealing with an authorised adviser affords specific protections under the law, such as acting in the best interests of clients, a duty to avoid conflicts of interest and providing access to dispute resolution schemes.”
The SMSF Professionals’ Association of Australia (SPAA) issued a statement welcoming the move, with chief executive Andrea Slat6tery outlining that “SPAA has long been critical of property developers and property investment entities advising consumers to establish an SMSF to buy an investment property”.
Couldn’t ASIC just simply Google “Property Investment via SMSF” and get a list and request evidence within 7 days of appropriate licensing from every one of them that appear to be promoting, recommending and facilitating the advice?
Or is that just too simple?
Hopefully, this is only the start of ASIC taking action. We all suspect that there are plenty of others out there doing the same thing.
Exactly how is it this organisation has been allowed to be operating under ASIC’s watch?
With offices all over Australia, a very slick website promoting regular “free” seminars all over Australia it seems impossible that ASIC could not be aware of this operator providing unlicensed advice to so many consumers.
Go to Park Trent’s website and it appears absolutely business as usual right now. Any member of the public could be signing up for more seminars as we speak.
The absolutely ridiculous thing is that if the people who have invested in property via SMSF’s with this group and received unlicensed advice, it is the rest of the us that again will cop the reputational punishment and damage dished out by the media and by ASIC commentary that “we need to act as professionals etc”, when the monitoring of the formation and operation of these businesses goes under the radar of the regulator and is allowed to get so far down the track before any action is taken.
How is it that the group were able to get 500 clients before anything was done about it !!