Sam Henderson Banned

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ASIC has banned well-known Sydney adviser, Sam Henderson, from providing financial services for a period of three years.

Sam Henderson

Following a surveillance of his activities, the regulator found Henderson, who was an authorised representative, responsible manager, director and Chief Executive of AFS licensee Henderson Maxwell, had failed to:

  • Act in the best interests of his clients
  • Provide appropriate advice
  • Prioritise his clients’ interests when providing personal financial advice

ASIC stated these failures led to clients either losing money or being at risk of losing money.

In its release, ASIC cited an example where Henderson failed to adequately investigate and assess his clients’ existing deferred benefit superannuation products. It said this resulted in a financial loss of several thousand dollars to one client when they rolled over their deferred benefit, while another client, who did not roll over their deferred benefit, would have incurred a $500,000 loss had they implemented Mr Henderson’s advice.

The regulator said it also found that Henderson:

  • Did not properly document or investigate his clients’ existing products
  • Failed to provide advice that was relevant to their specific goals
  • Recommended the use of in-house Henderson Maxwell products without providing product comparisons or justifying why the in-house products were better than his clients’ existing products

In addition to these findings, ASIC outlined circumstances in which Henderson, in his capacity as as director and responsible manager, was involved in Henderson Maxwell breaching its obligation as an AFS licensee to disclose information about relationships or associations that could influence the financial advice provided.

Henderson has previously been fined $50,000 by the FPA in relation to multiple breaches of its Code of Professional Practice (see: FPA Fines Sam Henderson…).

ASIC made no mention in its release of Henderson’s well-publicised appearance before the Banking Royal Commission in 2018.