ASIC permanently bans Victorian adviser

In banning Ahmed Saad of Glenroy, Victoria, ASIC said it found on 11 December that Mr Saad breached financial services laws and was not of good fame and character.

ASIC said the ban follows an investigation into Mr Saad’s conduct as an authorised representative of Apogee Financial Planning and through his business Saad Wealth Management.

It found that, between October 2016 and September 2017, Mr Saad had breached various financial services laws, including that he had:

• Engaged in dishonest conduct on about 164 separate occasions, illegally obtaining funds between $1,000 and $28,000 from client superannuation accounts for a total of $1.4 million from Nulis Nominees Australia, the trustee of the MLC Super Fund, and rebated those funds to his clients;
• Engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct by falsifying figures and details in client statements of advice and adviser remuneration fee forms provided to Nulis and Apogee; and
• Failed to act in the best interests of his clients and had not provided them with appropriate advice.

ASIC said the investigation is ongoing, and that Mr Saad has the right to lodge an application for review with the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

Adrian Flores

Adrian Flores is a deputy editor at Momentum Media, focusing mainly on banking, wealth management and financial services. He has also written for Public Accountant, Accountants Daily and The CEO Magazine.

You can contact him on [email protected].

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