Leah Sciacca News Today

ASIC is putting the pressure on financial advisers to provide appropriate SMSF advice using "professional judgment", as the regulator flags serious instances of misconduct it wants to curb.

With just days until the previous scheduled date of 1 October, ASIC has once again delayed the date that relevant providers must be registered.

Single disciplinary body the Financial Services and Credit Panel has published its first outcome, relating to an adviser who impersonated a client on the phone.

ASIC has extended the deadline for registration of financial advisers and shared when it expects the portal to open.

Leah Sciacca, ASIC senior executive for financial advisers, has outlined some of the activities of the Financial Services and Credit Panel, which commenced operations last year.

Matters of less serious misconduct may still require a hearing in front of the Financial Services and Credit Panel, according to ASIC.

ASIC’s senior executive leader, Leah Sciacca, has provided an update on the status of financial adviser registration with the regulator since it was delayed in November 2022.

The health of the SMSF sector is reliant of the professional judgement and expertise of financial advisers, according to regulators from ASIC and the ATO. With a “significant variance” in the knowledge and capability of new and existing trustees in running their SMSFs, planners are needed as gatekeepers to filter out people inappropriately creating their own funds.

There’s room for improvement with advice documents and advisers have made suggestions that could save time and effort while enhancing consumer comprehension.

<p><span>I am pleased to appear before the Committee once more and welcome Senator O’Neill as the new Committee Chair. I am joined today by Deputy Chairs Sarah Court and Karen Chester, Commissioner Sean Hughes, Chief Operating Officer Warren Day, Executive Director of Strategy Greg Kirk, Executive Director of Markets Greg Yanco and our General Counsel Chris Savundra. Commissioner Danielle Press is unable to join us today, so I have asked Senior Executive Leaders Leah Sciacc...