ASIC Bans NSW Adviser

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ASIC has announced it has banned Northern NSW adviser, David O’Brien, from providing financial services for four years following a surveillance by the regulator.

In its release, ASIC stated its review of a sample of O’Brien’s advice files found that he failed to:

  • Make sufficient inquiries into his clients’ circumstances
  • Conduct reasonable investigations into their existing financial products
  • Provide advice based on his clients’ personal circumstances

The regulator found that when providing advice on superannuation, O’Brien made no inquiries into matters including whether his clients already had any insurance in place within their existing superannuation arrangements.

ASIC alleges that, when providing insurance advice, O’Brien failed to prepare a needs analysis or objectively assess what level of insurance cover would achieve his clients’ needs. It added that one of his clients had their cover declined for pre-existing medical conditions after their existing insurance had been cancelled, leaving them uninsured.

The regulator says O’Brien, who was an authorised representative of Charter Financial Planning, and most recently, GWM Adviser Services, has the right to appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for a review of its decision.