However, when contacted by Money Management, ASIC confirmed it most regularly pursued people on the basis of them either not holding an Australian Financial Services License (AFSL) or being authorised to operate under such a license. The question of the restricted use of the term “financial adviser/planner” has come to the fore because of the controversy surrounding alleged fraudster, Melissa Caddick, who was passing herself off as a financial adviser without holding an AFSL or an authority. It also came as veteran Sydney-based financial adviser, Ian MacRitchie, noted that he had been concerned by what he regarded as ASIC’s apparent inaction when sought to help a family friend who had been burned by an unlicensed financial adviser.