- ASIC Bans Former NAB Adviser;
- InterPrac Names New Advice Manager;
- NAB’s Hagger Named as JBWere Chair;
- AFA Opens Education Award Nominations
ASIC Bans Former NAB Adviser
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has permanently banned a former NAB Financial Planning (NABFP) adviser, bringing the total number of advisers banned under its Wealth Management Project to 15.
Hardik Bhimani, of Sheidow Park, South Australia was permanently banned from providing financial services after he was found to have misappropriated advice fees owed to his employer by receiving funds from clients but telling NABFP that applicable fees payable by the clients had been waived. He was also found to have charged his clients excessive fees, and failed to provide a client with statements of advice.
Bhimani was employed in New South Wales as a senior financial planning manager, and later as a senior financial planner with NABFP from 1 April 2011 to 4 November 2013.
An ASIC investigation found he engaged in the behaviour above between 5 December 2012 and 7 August 2013 after which time NAB alerted ASIC to his conduct and fully refunded the advice fees to the affected clients.
Bhimani has the right to appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for a review of ASIC’s decision.
InterPrac Names New Advice Manager
Non-aligned advice group InterPrac Financial Planning has appointed former Capstone Financial Planning, Professional Standards Officer, Rae Stagbouer to the newly created role of National Advice Manager.
Stagbouer will be involved in assisting InterPrac advisers and support staff to improve processes and increase efficiencies and client service engagement across the network of accountant trained advisers.
InterPrac, Managing Director, Garry Crole said Stagbouer was a highly regarded financial services professional who had made strong contributions to the organisations in which she has worked and would play a key role in lifting the group’s reputation as an adviser focussed dealer group.
InterPrac has been endorsed by the National Tax & Accountants’ Association (NTAA) for the past ten years with the appointment preceding the ending of the accountants’ exemption at the end of June this year.
Crole said accountants with relevant advice qualification who were seeking a licensee could join the NTAA owned, limited authority, SMSF Advisers Network or InterPrac, which would continue to apply its own internal standards to ensure new appointments were compliant and a cultural fit.
NAB’s Hagger Named as JBWere Chair
NAB Wealth, Group Executive, Andrew Hagger has been appointed Chair of JBWere, the private advice division of NAB.
The appointment of Hagger, who replaces former NAB Group Executive, Finance and Strategy, Craig Drummond, follows recent announcements of the restructuring of the bank’s private wealth and private banking business.
In March, NAB announced that NAB Private Wealth would be renamed NAB Private and become a pure private banking proposition for high net worth clients while JBWere will continue to be led by Chief Executive, Justin Greiner and would become a specialist private wealth advisory business, which would receive referrals from NAB Private, with 60 NAB Private employees moving to JBWere.
While Hagger will be the chair of JBWere he also holds the role of NAB Group Executive, Wealth, and MLC, Chief Executive overseeing the bank’s asset management, superannuation, investments, wealth advice and insurance businesses.
AFA Opens Education Award Nominations
Nominations have opened for the Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) Excellence in Education Award which will be presented at the association’s national conference in October this year.
The award, which is in its ninth year, is being presented in conjunction with Asteron Life, and nominations will be open to 10 June with finalists announced in mid-July after a series of interviews with those nominated.
AFA, General Manager, Member Services, Partnerships and Campus AFA, Nick Hakes said the award highlights advisers who invest in education for themselves and staff and connect education to their client’s financial wellness and their own business performance.
Nominations for the award closes on 10 June 2016 and can be lodged www.asteronlife.com.au/afaawards.
