An adviser banned by ASIC in 2022 has been attempting to drum up new business with former clients as the regulator concedes further action is outside its remit.
ASIC banned Brisbane’s Stephen Garry Vick from providing financial advice in September 2022 for recommending his clients roll over their existing superannuation to a newly-established SMSF and borrow money to invest in residential property. Amongst other things, ASIC determined that Vick “earned substantial sums of conflicted remuneration without properly managing various conflicts of interest”.
Vick’s business comprised a group of companies that provided services in property sales, mortgage broking, accounting and financial advice, which ASIC found created a conflict of interest and that he accepted conflicted remuneration.
However, Vick remains the director and sole owner of Nexus Private Wealth Management, Nexus Private Lending Services and National Property Advisory, and is attempting to sell off-the-plan properties in Queensland and taking deposits from clients.
Since the ASIC ban, Professional Planner has been shown emails circulated by Vick in recent months to past clients spruiking property investment advice, buyer’s agency services, rental management, mortgage broking and debt management. His emails invite past clients to book in a time to meet with him and include a digital link to his calendar.
ASIC confirmed to Professional Planner that it is currently considering issues associated with Vick.
“We cannot provide comment on the scope of what we considered as part of our investigation,” an ASIC spokesperson said.
“However, real estate is not a financial product and ASIC doesn’t regulate real estate licensing.”
When announcing the banning on 6 September 2022, ASIC said Vick provided defective Statements of Advice containing numerous misleading statements and omissions.
ASIC said his business structure created conflicts of interest and that Vick prioritised his own interests over that of his clients. The regulator found that Vick failed to act in the best interests of clients when recommending that mum and dad investors open a SMSF and borrow to invest in residential property.
Some past clients who are significantly worse off financially after taking Vick’s financial advice have lodged complaints with AFCA. Professional Planner has spoken to four clients who are alleging they have lost between $100,000 and $300,000 because they took his financial advice.
Vick was banned from providing financial advice or running a financial services business for five years.
He appealed ASIC’s ban last year with the Administrative Appeals Tribunal seeking a review and hoping the ban would remain confidential, stating that a ban would be catastrophic for him. Vick told investigators that he had worked in professional services for 27 years and that he has no other relevant skills to earn a living.
Vick also said that everything he had worked for in the past decade would be destroyed as his and his family’s income is solely derived from the Nexus Private Group.
The AAT acknowledged that Vick would suffer some financial stress however didn’t believe he would experience serious financial hardship, adding that there wasn’t any evidence as to his current financial position, and refused his application. That refusal triggered ASIC to reveal the ban publicly in June last year.
ASIC confirmed that Vick had been banned from providing financial services, performing any function involved in the carrying on of a financial services business, and controlling an entity that carries on a financial services business, for five years.
Just two months after the ASIC ban, Vick had purchased a lavish colonial-style three-storey (pictured below), five bedroom and six bathroom home an hour north of New York for US$1.7 million ($2.64 million), sharing images of himself with his family at the home on social media.
Meanwhile, Vick sold his family home in the Queensland suburb of Camp Hill for $2.8 million at auction last month. The real estate listing stated that the successful purchaser has the option to buy all furniture and décor, which would seem to be consistent with a plan to move to the US.
Vick was contacted for comment but did not respond to questions.
