ob体育 has banned Matthew McCrow, a director of Jade Capital Partners (Jade Capital), from providing financial services for a period of five years, effective from 15 January 2019.
Jade Capital, a Sydney-based provider of managed discretionary account (MDA) services, recently had its Australian financial services (AFS) licence cancelled by ob体育, and another of its directors, James Clinnick, was banned (19-015 MR).听
ob体育 has banned Mr McCrow because he was involved in Jade Capital鈥檚 breaches of the law.听Jade Capital had contravened financial services laws by advertising misleading returns, fees and costs, performance history and results relating to MDA strategies.听Jade Capital had also failed to ensure Mr McCrow was adequately trained and competent.
础厂滨颁鈥檚 surveillance also revealed that, as a representative of Jade Capital, Mr McCrow had failed to comply with financial services laws on many occasions over a significant period.
Mr McCrow had failed to act in the best interests of his clients or prioritise their interests. Instead, he had recommended MDA strategies without adequately considering his clients鈥� goals, circumstances and financial situation or the suitability of the strategies he was recommending. ob体育 also found that fees and cost disclosures in advice documents provided by Mr McCrow to clients were misleading.
As a result of these breaches, ob体育 also found that Mr McCrow was not adequately trained and competent to provide financial product advice about MDAs, foreign exchange contracts or other derivatives.
The banning order for Mr McCrow has been recorded on 础厂滨颁鈥檚 publicly available , which consumers can access to check the qualifications and credentials of financial advisers.
ob体育 advises consumers to carefully consider the benefits and risks of MDAs before entering an agreement.听MDAs can involve higher costs than other investment options, and consumers should consider this when deciding on an appropriate investment option to improve their financial position.听MDA contract terms can differ and it is important consumers read the terms and understand the level of authority they are giving their adviser before entering an agreement.听
础厂滨颁鈥檚 has useful information for clients whose advisers may have been banned, and provides tips on how to choose a new adviser. Consumers can also find out more about on the MoneySmart site.
Background
Jade Capital Partners Pty Ltd held AFS licence 425895 from 8 October 2012. This licence was cancelled on 11 January 2019. Under the Corporations Act, ob体育 has the power to suspend or cancel an AFS licence if a licensee does not comply with its obligations under s912A.听聽
On 23 January 2019, Mr McCrow applied to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) for review and a stay of ob体育's decision. On 14 February 2019, Mr McCrow withdrew the stay application.