ASIC has banned Brisbane-based former financial adviser Nathan Smith from providing financial services for three years.
The regulator found Mr Smith did not consider his clients’ existing products when making recommendations to switch products and did not align recommended investment strategies with client risk profiles.
“He also failed to properly disclose in advice documents all the costs and significant consequences of switching products,” ASIC said.
“Mr Smith did not provide clients with fee disclosure statements within the 60-day statutory time frame and he failed to provide compliant renewal notices in relation to ongoing fee arrangements.”
Mr Smith has been a financial adviser since 2010 and has been authorised by a number of AFS licensees. The misconduct, which resulted in this banning, occurred during the time he was an authorised representative of MyPlanner Professional Services Pty Ltd and Total Financial Solutions Australia Limited, according to ASIC.
Mr Smith’s banning has been recorded on ASIC’s publicly available Financial Advisers Register and the Banned and Disqualified Persons Register.
Mr Smith has the right to appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for a review of ASIC’s decision.
From what I’ve seen and heard of this particular one, this is a massive overreach. Not so much an Adviser having done wrong, but more a case of ASIC having a different opinion around the number crunching of strategies. The issue being, they’re supposed to be a regulator and rule as such – not as a critic. I guarantee any Adviser could walk into any other Adviser’s office, pick up 5 files and probably come up with a list of things they’d have recommended differently – levels of cover, insurers, platform providers, etc. Does it mean one Adviser’s recommendations are wrong and the other’s right? Of course not. Just as most accountants will have differing recommendations. It’s about time someone regulated the regulator as we’re now losing a lot of incredible experience from the industry thanks to decisions like this one.
If he is one of the best that you have come across then we are all screwed…
They are! This is why we should support advisers who are banned and not shun them. Some of the good guys are being caught up in this witch hunt.
I know this guy and his advice – one of the best I’ve come across. If they’re banning guys like him, we’re all screwed!