Page 21 - Danielle Press News Today

The regulator said it had received an overwhelming response to its consultation on reducing barriers to advice affordability, detailing the next steps in its process as hopes emerge that the growing c

The regulator has suggested it expects scaled advice to take over as the dominant form of advice in the industry in the next few years as the professionalisation of the sector continues. Addressing th

The corporate regulator has said its recent win over Westpac in the High Court provides a “clear delineation” to super funds over what constitutes personal advice, warning it will take further enf

Date Time ASIC successful against Westpac subsidiaries’ appeal to High Court The High Court has today confirmed that Westpac Bank subsidiaries, Westpac Securities Administration Limited (WSAL) and BT Funds Management Limited (BTFM), breached financial services laws, including the requirement to act in their clients’ best interests and the requirement to act honestly, efficiently and fairly. The unanimous High Court judgment today upheld the Full Federal Court decision regarding the conduct ...

Westpac loses High Court appeal over super sales campaign Normal text size Advertisement Westpac has lost a High Court appeal over a breach of financial advice laws, after running a telephone campaign encouraging customers to roll over their superannuation savings into a bank-owned fund. The High Court on Wednesday dismissed Westpac’s appeal over the long-running case, launched against the bank after it gained $650 million in extra funds under management through a call-out to customers that t...

In the words of ASIC Commissioner, Danielle Press “By clarifying the distinction between tailored, quality, personal advice in the customer’s interest, and general advice given via a sales campaign, todays judgment will provide clear guidance to those financial institutions that develop campaigns to sell financial products through direct approaches to retail clients”. However, on ASIC’s current interpretation of intra-fund advice, the High Court’s decision may not be relevant, with th...

Can advisers and ASIC get on the same page? Can advisers and ASIC get on the same page? There is one common theme that flows through many of the industry submissions to ASIC’s consultation on affordable advice – and unfortunately it can’t be fixed with the stroke of a pen. A A Announcing the forthcoming release of what would become the regulator’s Consultation Paper 332 on promoting access to affordable advice for consumers, ASIC commissioner Danielle Press seemed to suggest the regulat...

The SMSF Association’s CEO, John Maroney, has accused licensees of putting self-interest and profit ahead of advisers and consumers in a submission to ASIC’s consultation on access to affordable advice. Maroney said SMSF Association members have indicated the layer of compliance levied by some AFSLs “prioritises their own self-interests” rather than the provision of advice. Further, the CEO states, “some AFSLs have a bias towards revenue generation and ensure that their compliance gui...

ASIC has revealed why it chose to take minimal action following a report that showed more than half of super fund advice files were non-compliant with best interest duty. Responses to questions on no

The corporate regulator has rejected an assertion from liberal MP Bert Van Manen that its advice lookback requests “back as far as 2008” assess advisers on the basis of standards that did not exist at that time. Speaking at the Parliamentary Joint Committee inquiry into ASIC’s oversight on December 16, Van Manen voiced a common line of complaint from the industry – that benchmarking advisers against today’s regulatory standards for work completed many years ago is contributing to undu...