iscover SMSF establishment, property development at heart of new court battle
SuperASIC has commenced proceedings in the Supreme Court of Queensland against a former financial adviser who allegedly recommended SMSFs to clients to facilitate the purchase of a newly constructed investment property.
ASIC has taken court action against Richard Gardner, a credit representative and former financial adviser, and Advanced Wealth Financial Services Pty Ltd.
The Corporate Regulator is alleging that Mr Gardner and Advanced Wealth Financial Services were providing financial services with no license or authorisation.
Following an investigation, ASIC alleges that Mr Gardner recommended clients establish an SMSF to facilitate the purchase of a newly constructed investment property, recommended specific properties for development to clients, recommended specific developers or builders to construct the investment property and received substantial commissions from the builder or developer used for the construction of the investment property.
Mr Gardner and Advanced Wealth Financial Services are not licensed nor authorised to provide financial services, only credit services.
ASIC is seeking final orders to restrain Mr Gardner and Advanced Wealth Financial Services from carrying on a financial services business unless authorised.
The matter will be heard in the Supreme Court in Brisbane on 12 February 2019.
ASIC said its investigation is continuing.
Miranda Brownlee
Miranda Brownlee is the deputy editor of SMSF Adviser, which is the leading source of news, strategy and educational content for professionals working in the SMSF sector.
Since joining the team in 2014, Miranda has been responsible for breaking some of the biggest superannuation stories in Australia, and has reported extensively on technical strategy and legislative updates.
Miranda also has broad business and financial services reporting experience, having written for titles including Investor Daily, ifa and Accountants Daily.
