Blog Masonry

Ms Yat Nam (April) Yuen, of Sydney, New South Wales, has been charged with aiding and abetting former stockbroking firm BBY Limited (BBY) to engage in dishonest conduct in relation to a financial service. Ms Yuen, who held various roles at BBY including Manager – Strategy, is charged with two offences contrary to sections 1041G(1)…

ASIC has released Information Sheets 276 and 277 to provide guidance to financial advisers and AFS licensees about the new requirement for financial advisers to be registered, following the Treasury Laws Amendment (2023 Measures No. 1) Bill 2023 receiving Royal Assent on 27 November 2023. From 1 February 2024, financial advisers, excluding provisional relevant providers,…

Introduction The famous crime novelist and screenwriter, Raymond Chandler, once said that his greatest weapon was not a gun or a knife, but a $20 bill. It’s a very American quote! But it got me thinking about the diverse tools we have at our disposal, and how often we use them. I think one of…

We have today published the final report on our multi-firm review into firms’ progress in implementing the internal capital adequacy and risk assessment (ICARA) process and reporting requirements under the Investment Firms Prudential Regime (IFPR). This final report must be read together with the report on our initial observations published in February 2023. The IFPR…

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has banned Nigel Lewis and Susan Jones of West Wales Financial Services Limited (in liquidation) (WWFS) from advising customers on pension transfers and pension opt outs. Mr Lewis has also been banned from holding any senior management functions in a regulated firm. Mr Lewis and Ms Jones will also pay…

Geoffrey Anthony Shannon, of Port Macquarie, NSW, has been found not guilty of managing a corporation while disqualified. The Southport Magistrates Court delivered its decision on 22 November 2023. In his decision, Magistrate Bamberry found that he could not be satisfied to the requisite standard that Mr Shannon acted in a way which breached s206A(1)…

Today, ASX Limited released a Special Report, along with an external Audit Report, on its Portfolio, Program and Project Management Frameworks (PPPM Reports). The PPPM Reports are relevant to ASX’s delivery, implementation and governance of the recently announced CHESS replacement solution design. ASX has now published all three of the special reports and accompanying audit…

ASIC has permanently banned Renato De Maria, of Melbourne, Victoria, from providing any financial service. Mr De Maria is also permanently banned from controlling an entity that carries a financial services business and performing any function involved in the carrying on of a financial services business. Mr De Maria was a responsible manager and is…

ASIC is seeking feedback from the investment management industry on our proposal to remake the ASIC Class Order [CO 13/721] Relief to facilitate quotation of exchange traded funds on the AQUA (ASX Quoted Assets) Market. Consultation Paper 374 Remaking ASIC Class Order on Exchange Traded Funds: [CO 13/721] sets out ASIC’s proposed amendments to [CO…

Prior to the UK leaving the EU, EEA-based firms were able to operate in the UK without our direct authorisation. The Temporary Permissions Regime, which allowed EEA firms to continue to operate in the UK while transitioning to the full UK regulatory regime, is coming to an end after 3 years. We are assessing the…