According to a statement, Ronald Malcom Cross of Figtree, NSW, was the director of Park Trent Properties Group.
On 27 November 2015, the Supreme Court of New South Wales found the firm had been illegally advising clients to purchase investment properties through SMSFs for more than five years.
The court also permanently restrained Park Trent from providing unlicensed financial product advice to clients regarding SMSFs.
ASIC banned Mr Cross after it found that he was knowingly involved in Park Trent’s contraventions and made all of its major strategic and business decisions as well as intended to influence clients to purchase properties through SMSFs.
Mr Cross was also willing to ignore legal advice and warnings about Park Trent’s practices, “demonstrating that he is likely to contravene financial services laws”, ASIC said.
ASIC deputy chairman Peter Kell said: “ASIC’s action against Mr Cross shows that we will not hesitate to exclude property spruikers who provide unlicensed financial services from the industry.”
Mr Cross has the right to appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for a review of ASIC’s decision.
850 SMSF setups with assumably commission kickbacks on property sales Let’s say $5k a pop. That’s $4.25 million (likely WAY more if off the plan developer kickbacks). No SoA. No Best Interest Duty. If I was only motivated by the $ and this was the worst thing that could happen to me, I know what career path I should have set myself on. Call myself an Investment Property guru, run some seminars and rake in the cash. It’s about time an Investment Property was included under Corps Act as an INVESTMENT (sure exclude a PPR). If I dont do an SoA and Demonstrate Best Interest I go to jail because I AM LICENCED. If I am not licenced I get banned from being licenced…and that’s it???
Completely agree with you Travis. Mr Kell can exclude as many property spruikers as he likes but unless there is a genuine disincentive to this practice, a ban is not going to stop the dishonest. Hit these people were it hurts the most, their wallets.
So there is now a ban in place for something he was unauthorised to do anyway (i.e. provide financial advice) but presumably can keep spruiking property without any financial penalty. Where is the deterrent? By ASIC’s own comments he is ” demonstrating that he is likely to contravene financial services laws” so has anything actually occurred here that indicates he won’t just keep doing the same things?