Involvement in a murky underworld of fraudulent and criminal dealings leads to the demise of a UK adviser, ASIC decides to delay the implementation of a national examination for financial planners and evidence that members of super funds and their advisers are increasingly gaining a better understanding of lower concessional contribution caps.
Financial adviser assaulted, killed as fraud attempt fails
A cautionary tale for advisers tempted by dishonest dealings has emerged from the UK with the conviction of two men for the murder of a financial adviser. Lynda Spence, a 27-year-old financial adviser based in Glasgow, went missing in 2011 after a series of shady business dealings, with the high court this week concluding she was abducted and murdered despite her body not being found.
Spence invested £85,000 on behalf of client Colin Coats in an ill-fated deal to buy land near Stansted Airport in London and subsequently tried to pay him back by faking and trying to sell Danish Government bearers bonds, which had been printed from the internet. However, the scam backfired and with Interpol closing in, Coates and accomplice Philip Wade abducted Spence in an attempt to extract “financial information” from her.
The court heard horrific details of how Spence was assaulted every day for almost two weeks before she was killed.
FoFA behind delay in national training standard
The Australian Securities and Investment’s Commission (ASIC) has decided to delay work on the introduction and implementation of a national examination for financial advisers. The regulator said the decision had been taken to allow appropriate time for other reforms to be implemented in the financial advice sector, notably the Future of Financial Advice (FoFA) package of reforms.
However, a spokesperson for ASIC added that it still views the exam as a very important initiative to ensure consistent national standards for advisers and it will continue to consult on training standards.
“We want consumers to have greater access to quality financial advice and greater confidence in advisers. Having this framework in place, including the enhanced training standards, is an important element in achieving this objective,” said ASIC Chairman Greg Medcraft.
Advisers boxing clever on concessional contributions
The number of excess concessional contributions and excess non-concessional breaches of the relevant caps fell in 2010/2011 with this decline expected to continue in the 2011/2012 figures. SMSF Professionals’ Association of Australia (SPAA) technical director Graeme Colley said the trend showed that members of super funds and their advisers are increasingly getting a better understanding of the lower concessional contribution caps and many appear to have adjusted accordingly.
“There seems little doubt that members are coming to grips with the changes in the caps and as such it’s likely this welcome decline will continue when we see the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) figures for 2011/12,” he said. “However, it will be interesting to see what happens for the 2012/13 financial year when the concessional contributions cap was reduced to $25,000 for people aged 50 years and older.”
He added that the highest average liability for assessments is with excess non-concessional contributions – possibly due to misunderstanding the operation of the $450,000 bring forward rule and also due to the carry-over of excess concessional contributions to the non-concessional contributions cap.
