WA adviser banned for four years

The corporate regulator has banned a Western Australia-based adviser who was an authorised representative of a major bank from the financial services industry for four years.

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by Sarah Kendell - March 24, 2020 15 comments

In a statement, ASIC said it had banned Anthony Hilsley, a former authorised representative of RI Advice, after he failed to comply with financial services laws including the best interests duty.

An ASIC audit of Mr Hilsley's files when he was authorised with RI Advice, which was then owned by ANZ, found he did not identify his clients' personal circumstances or properly consider their needs, and also did not sufficiently consider existing products when making his recommendations to clients.

"For one client, Mr Hilsley recommended replacing superannuation and insurance products without taking the client’s pre-existing medical condition into account. As a result, a loading was added to the premium, which could have been avoided if Mr Hilsley had considered the suitability of the client’s existing products to meet their ongoing insurance needs," ASIC said.

The corporate regulator said Mr Hilsley's banning would be recorded on the financial adviser register, and that he had the right to an appeal through the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

Mr Hilsley was most recently licensed through Fiducian Financial Services.