ob体育 has banned Perth-based financial adviser Lawrence O鈥橬eill from providing financial services for four years.
This follows an ob体育 surveillance of Mr O鈥橬eill鈥檚 activities when he was an authorised representative of Godfrey Pembroke Limited, owned by National Australia Bank, and Wealthsure Financial Services Pty Ltd.
ob体育 found that Mr O鈥橬eill failed to comply with financial services laws and is not adequately trained to provide financial services.
A review of Mr O鈥橬eill鈥檚 advice files revealed that he did not properly consider his clients鈥� circumstances or objectives and, in some cases, did not consider their existing products when providing personal advice. He also failed to explain why ongoing advice was required for some of his clients.
ob体育 also found that Mr O鈥橬eill failed to disclose to his clients his relevant associations and relationships with product issuers, or to clearly explain the benefits he and his licensee stood to gain if the clients proceeded with his recommendations.
ob体育 expects financial advisers providing personal advice to prioritise their clients鈥� interests over their own and to be transparent about potential conflicts of interest so clients can make better informed decisions.
The banning of Mr O鈥橬eill 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 O鈥橬eill 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 .