Regulator prosecutes second adviser this month as inactive superannuation heads to the tax office and Affinia appoints a national manager, advice, as it looks to attract specialist risk professionals.
Bell Potter “bad apple” gets jail term
A former Bell Potter Securities adviser has been sentenced to five years jail with a non-parole period of three years and nine months for fraudulent conduct that cost investors more than $1.6 million. Glen Russell Evans of Leichhardt, NSW, pleaded guilty in the Sydney District Court to 10 counts of misappropriating funds. Five further counts were also considered in sentencing.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) said its investigation had covered Evan’s role as a director of Kismet Trading Pty Ltd (deregistered) and during his employment at Bell Potter Securities where he worked until his resignation in October 2008. Between September 2002 and October 2008, Evans entered into contracts with individuals and self-managed superannuation funds to invest in listed Australian equities and derivatives.
ASIC’s investigation found that Mr Evans: failed to invest the money as agreed; provided false trading and performance reports; failed to repay the balance of the proceeds to the investors; and in some instances used clients’ money as collateral for his personal trading account without their authorisation.
“This is the second prosecution in a month involving a financial adviser who has exploited client accounts in a deceptive fashion,” said ASIC Commissioner Greg Tanzer said. “As this outcome shows, we will not hesitate to take action to remove bad apples from the industry to ensure confidence in the financial services space remains strong.”
Inactive super heads to tax office
Australians have less than a week before inactive superannuation accounts with less than $2,000 must be sent to the Australian Tax Office. In December the government passed a law requiring superannuation funds to send such balances to the ATO by May 31. BT Financial Group general manager of superannuation, Deanne Stewart, said the new law was positive because it protected the erosion of smaller balances, which would otherwise be subject to insurance and administration costs.
“Our research shows that few Australians will retire with adequate retirement funds. An Australian on the average wage of $72,400 will only replace half of their income in their retirement – well short of the Government’s recommended 70 per cent,” he said. “Australians will need every dollar of their superannuation to be working for them in the lead up to and during retirement.
Affinia appoints national manager, advice
New national dealer group Affinia has appointed Sitparan Gnanendran as national manager, advice. He joins from AMP where he was manager, risk research, a role he held for the past six years. Head of Affinia, Craig Parker said the national position had been created to ensure the ongoing evolution of the licensee as it looks to attract specialist risk professionals.
“Since launch, we have enjoyed much interest in our offering. I’m personally proud of how our network is not only growing but the voice our advisers are having in our evolution. They see value to what we supply, and this new role continues the value-add we offer advisers,” he said.
Parker said Gnanendran will be the technical risk “go to” person for the Affinia network including its approved product list (APL) in relation to claims, technical product advice, underwriting and the overall advice process. Other responsibilities include being a conduit between the licensee and its APL partners, as well as production of training and education materials for practitioners.
“Affinia takes care of the noise, whether that is the back office functionality by our leading technology platform, regulatory changes or by simply having an open risk APL. We remove the noise, so our advisers can see more clients,” said Parker.
