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ISCOVER
Steven Cross
ASIC has warned that they will take strong action against incorrect use of the term ‘independent’ in the financial services industry.
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After a “recent surveillance project”, ASIC found 21 instances of insurance brokers and financial planners making statements about their independence, which breached the Corporations Act.
According to ASIC, all 21 breaches have now voluntarily been amended to comply with ASIC.
ASIC Commissioner Peter Kell said that he is putting the financial service industry on notice about their expectations.
“Going forward, where we find incorrect information about independence we will be taking stronger action including publicly naming the licensees involved,” he said.
“ASIC’s first priority is to ensure people are receiving the information they need to make informed and confident financial decisions.
“We will not tolerate them being misled on the important issue of the independence of financial system gatekeepers.
AFS licensees are prohibited from using the terms, “independent”, “unbiased” or “impartial” if they receive commission or volume-based payments.
