Australian watchdog slaps four-year ban on adviser
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has banned a Perth-based financial adviser for four years after a surveillance found that he was not trained to provide financial services.
Lawrence O'Neill worked for Godfrey Pembroke, owned by the National Australia Bank, and Wealthsure Financial Services but was not adequately trained and failed to comply with financial services laws, according to ASIC.
A review of O'Neill's advice files allegedly revealed he did not properly consider his clients' circumstances or objectives, and in some cases did not consider their existing products when providing advice.
ASIC said it expected financial advisers providing personal advice to prioritise their clients' interests over their own and to be transparent about potential conflicts of interest so clients can make better informed decisions.
The banning of O'Neill came as a part of ASIC's ongoing efforts to improve standards across the financial services industry and it would be recorded on ASIC's publicly available Financial Advisers Register and the Banned and Disqualified Persons Register.
O'Neill has the right to appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for a review of ASIC's decision.
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