Senate Dixon Advisory collapse report coincides with election

Mike Taylor

Managing Editor and Publisher

23 September 2024

The timing of the Senate Economics Committee investigation into the collapse of Dixon Advisory means the final report will be made public amid the early weeks of next year’s Federal Election campaign.

The Senate on Friday published the final terms of reference for the inquiry and called for submissions with the committee due to release its final report by no later than the last sitting day of March, next year.

Importantly, the terms of reference now extend to the collapse of other wealth management companies.

With the next Federal Election due in May, that means the committee’s findings will be made public as politicians get ready to hit the campaign trail.

The inquiry is simply being referenced as Wealth Management Companies with the terms of reference being the same as those originally proposed by One Nation leader, Senator Pauline Hanson.

Those terms of reference are also consistent with points which have been raised by the Financial Advice Association of Australia.

The reasons for the collapse of wealth management companies, and the implications for the establishment of the Compensation Scheme of Last Resort (CSLR) and challenges to its ongoing sustainability, with particular reference to Dixon Advisory & Superannuation Services Pty Limited (Dixon Advisory) as an example, and:

(a) the underlying cause of the collapse of wealth management companies such as Dixon Advisory, including the business model and influence of the sale of related party products, for example the US Master Residential Property Fund;

(b)how the actions of directors of wealth management companies and related entities, senior management and the individual advisers contribute to the collapse of these companies;

(c) the role of the financial services regulatory regime in the context of how matters involving the collapse of an investment product promoted by a vertically integrated business are assessed and how fault is attributed;

(d)evaluation of the placement of wealth management companies into administration and the related insolvency issues, including with respect to the appropriateness of actions by directors and senior management and the transfer of advisers and clients to a related party entity for no consideration;

(e) assessment of the period for which wealth management companies can remain a member of the Australian Financial Complaints Authority;

(f) the role of Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), including providing consumer information to investors affected by corporate collapse and consideration of the most appropriate arrangements for future cases of insolvency;

(g) ASIC’s role investigating corporate collapse and the appropriateness of any regulatory intervention that may reduce scale of loss for consumers;

(h) options for enforcement action, including litigation, that ASIC has available to it in relation to wealth management companies following collapse;

(i) the implications of the collapse of wealth management companies on the establishment of the CSLR, including with respect to design considerations and the potential implications for future matters; and

(j) any other related matters.