ob体育 has accepted a court-enforceable undertaking from former Acquire Strategic Advisers Pty Ltd director and financial adviser, Gregory Blackaby, from Brisbane, Queensland.
ob体育鈥檚 investigation revealed that Mr Blackaby failed to keep adequate and up-to-date records to show he had provided clients with services they were entitled to under ongoing service arrangements.
Under the terms of the undertaking, Mr Blackaby has agreed that he will not:
- carry on a financial services business,
- provide financial services, or
- act in a managerial capacity of any entity operating a financial services business or providing legal, accounting or other advisory services to a financial services business.
Mr Blackaby was also an authorised representative of Capstone Financial Planning ACN 093 733 969 (AFS Licence no. 223135).
Capstone and Mr Blackaby are undertaking a remediation program for Mr Blackaby鈥檚 clients. To date, the program has refunded over $500,000 to clients where the records were not sufficient to ensure that clients had received the services they were entitled to.
Under the terms of the undertaking, Mr Blackaby is also required to notify all clients of the remediation program and their rights to complain to AFCA if they have disputes with Capstone that cannot otherwise be resolved.
View ob体育's Court Enforceable undertakings register
Background
ob体育 may accept a court enforceable undertaking to improve and enforce compliance with the law. Court enforceable undertakings are not always used as an alternative to other enforcement action, they can also be used to complement or enhance such actions.
ob体育 will not usually accept a court enforceable undertaking:
- instead of pursuing criminal court proceedings;
- where the misconduct is deliberate or involves a high level of recklessness, or
- after a matter has been referred to an ob体育 delegate or another specialist body.
ob体育 generally requires that a court enforceable undertaking contains admissions that the party providing the undertaking contravened legislative provisions. If the party does not comply with the undertakings, ob体育 will seek to enforce the undertaking through the court.
Further guidance on how ob体育 uses court enforceable undertakings can be found in Regulatory Guide 100鈥疌ourt enforceable undertakings鈥�(RG 100).