ASIC billed $4.4m for unlicensed advice and the costs go on
Unlicensed advice pursued by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) cost financial advisers and licensees nearly $4.5 million in the 2022/23 financial year.
What is more ASIC has flagged that financial advisers will still likely to be billed again for its action against Melissa Caddick in the current financial year.
As financial advisers continue to express concern at the cost of funding the ASIC levy, the regulator has told a Parliamentary committee that a total of $4,488,157 was spent on unlicensed operators in 2022/23.
It said this amount was then charged to the financial advice sector, meaning that it contributed to the quantum of the ASIC levy now facing advisrs and licensees.
Answering questions flowing from Senate Estimates, ASIC said that it work on 39 unlicensed conduct operators during the financial year and that, of these, 10 cost ASIC over $100,000.
The questions were posed by West Australian Liberal Senator and former ministerial adviser, Slade Brockman who noted how much ASIC had previously expended in pursuing investigations around notorious unlicensed adviser Melissa Caddick.
“We were previously advised by ASIC that the cost of the Melissa Caddick matter was around $680k in the 2022/23 financial year. How much was the total spend by ASIC on unlicensed operators that ASIC charged to the financial advice sector in the 2022/23 financial year?” Brockman asked.
He then asked how many unlicensed operator matters ASIC worked on in the financial advice sector and how many matters cost ASIC over $100,000.
And while Caddick matter was largely dealt with two years’ ago, ASIC said that it was still “likely to spend approximately $15,000 on the Melissa Caddick matter in FY 2023/24.
The lack of transparency is breathtaking. It shouldn’t be left up to senators to uncover this basic information.
ASIC = Arrogant, Secretive, Incompetent & Corrupt
Where is the logic in us paying for regulation of people pretending to be one of us? It’s just plain old fraud
ASIC is strongly biased, they hate financial advisers.
Why are we paying for Melissa Caddick and all the rest of this stuff?!
This is yet another absolute joke from Canberra.
…apparently this is a “cost” to FA’s because ASIC is cleaning up the industry…whilst ignoring financial advisers warning that Melissa was operating a year or so before they did anything about it.
This is absolutely appalling….
Seriously… Canberra is a mess.
Asking for a friend – Is there a legal case by the FAAA on behalf of the profession to have these costs covered by ASIC/ Government, especially if (i)Unregistered advisers stealing money = fraud ( a criminal matter and not advice related) and (ii) ( in the Caddick case) they were advised a year earlier and did nothing?
Why are we paying for this when they refuse to investigate hard evidence of fraud put before them. They are only driving up the cost in the future when the problem becomes to big to ignore. They are fundamentally incapable of ensuring we have a fair financial market place.
If they are unlicensed, they clearly have nothing to do with our profession and therefore we should not be footing the ASIC bill!
You couldn’t make this incompetence up
ASIC are worse than hopeless. Always have been for at least 30 years.
Why the hell should honest licenced advisers pay for the crimes of the unlicensed. Absolute disgrace!!! You have got to be kidding? What a joke.!
Maybe ASIC should be recovering these “costs” from the crooks they investigate? not foot the bill to the other advisers who keep the industry going ….
Unlicensed advisers? Doesn’t that make them ordinary criminals. Hand them over to the Police. They have greater resources and experience to punish them appropriately.
In the 20 years I have been in the industry, I have never seen any form of advertising from a government, encouraging people to seek licensed financial advice, and the benefits of doing so. Why they would want to encourage people to seek advice from someone who they cannot see, or who does not understand them, or does not have the adequate training. No wonder people are getting scammed. Severe lack of education around this.
Like all of you, I’m an investor in a litigation funder. It’s called ASIC
This singular litigation funder doesn’t get to analyse the merits of the case and the chances of success and better still the chances of recovery. And there’s definitely no return on my investment
ASIC is not concerned by any of that and neither is the Treasury. In effect the ASIC levy is nothing more than a direct indiscriminate tax on financial advisers.
Fired up my usual complaint to my local Labor member. Won’t hold my breath for a response because, let’s face it folks, we are funding government programs with this nice little contribution to consolidated revenue. Never stand between any government and a tax, and better still if it was introduced by your political opponents
ASIC long lost the support of the Financial Services Industry. The corruption within the Australian Public Service needs to stop now.
As adviser we have PI in place which doesn’t cover fraud. That’s why we have a legal system, and the Crimes Act 1900 and a million thirsty lawyers. Chasing fraud from someone who isn’t licensed should in no way be a job for an incompetent government regulator. Licensed advisers already have insurances in place like the building industry to cover actual bad advice, but the rest should be left for people to fight out in court for themselves.