ob体育 has banned former Sydney-based financial adviser Adrian Khaw from providing financial services for four years.
This follows an ob体育 surveillance of Mr Khaw鈥檚 activities when he was an authorised representative of National Australia Bank-owned Apogee Financial Planning Limited and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited.
ob体育 found that Mr Khaw failed to comply with financial services laws including the requirements to prioritise his clients鈥� interests, to comply with the best interests duty and to provide appropriate advice.
ob体育 also found that Mr Khaw was not adequately trained, or competent, to provide financial services and that he engaged in misleading conduct by backdating file notes.
A review of Mr Khaw鈥檚 advice files revealed that his clients wanted to purchase an investment property and were referred to him by an associated mortgage broking business. Despite having differing needs and circumstances, Mr Khaw advised almost all of his clients to establish a self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF), or use an existing SMSF, and to use Limited Recourse Borrowing Arrangements (LRBAs) to fund the purchase of a property.
ob体育 found that Mr Khaw failed in his duty as a financial adviser to put in place a strategy that was in the client鈥檚 best interests. Mr Khaw failed to provide a professional, independent assessment of whether an SMSF, which borrowed to invest in property, was an appropriate strategy for his clients. ob体育 found that Mr Khaw put his own interests ahead of the interests of his clients and that his advice exposed a number of his clients to financial harm.
ob体育 Commissioner, Danielle Press said, 鈥楢dvisers must take into account their clients鈥� personal circumstances, needs and financial goals to ensure that the advice they provide is appropriate. Failing to do so clearly indicates a lack of regard for the law and, most importantly, for the interests of clients鈥�.
The banning of Mr Khaw is part of ob体育鈥檚 ongoing efforts to improve standards across the financial services industry. It will be recorded on
ob体育's publicly available and the Banned and Disqualified Persons Register.
Mr Khaw has the right to appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for a review of ob体育鈥檚 decision.
ob体育's MoneySmart website has useful information for consumers about , how to complain about a financial adviser and what to do if their .