The Financial Services and Credit Panel (FSCP) has made a registration prohibition order against a financial adviser who provided misleading and deceptive advice to a client relating to the establishment of an SMSF.
The FSCP made the order under section 921L(1)(c) of the Corporations Act 2001 to prohibit Stephen Rogers’ registration as a relevant provider until after 6 December 2025.
The sitting panel found Rogers had acted inappropriately in a deceptive and misleading fashion when providing financial advice to a client on the suitability of establishing an SMSF or the suitability of the fund investing in products that were related to his licensee.
Specifically, the FSCP concluded he had contravened multiple sections of the Corporations Act as he had failed to act in the best interests of the client, to provide advice that was appropriate for the client’s needs and objectives and to abide by the code of ethics’ values of honesty and fairness.
The administrative body also found he failed to identify a substantial conflict of interest as the referral of the client had not been at arm’s length and the referrer received a significant referral fee, in addition to introducing an investment opportunity that was unlikely to deliver on the returns promised.
Rogers has subsequently had his registration as a financial adviser cancelled and is prohibited from being registered with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). He is also prohibited from giving personal advice to retail clients on relevant financial products during the prohibition period.
The FSCP is a pool of industry participants, appointed by the government, that ASIC draws upon when forming individual sitting panels. The panel operates separately from, but alongside, ASIC’s existing administrative decision-making processes, with the aim of responding to lower-level misconduct and ensuring minor misconduct does not go unaddressed.
The decision has been published on the FSCP outcome register on the ASIC website.