Ashley Grant Howard, of Hobart, Tasmania has been convicted, after pleading guilty before the Downing Centre Local Court, to two charges of using false documents to obtain a financial advantage or cause a financial disadvantage. Between July 2013 and April 2014, Mr. Howard used false off-market transfer forms to transfer shares in GPS Alliance Holdings...
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ASIC suspends AFS licence of Quantum Funds Management Limited
ASIC has suspended the Australian financial services (AFS) license of Quantum Funds Management Limited (QFML) until 15 October 2023. QFML is the responsible entity of the following registered managed investment schemes: Quantum Mortgage Trust (ARSN 095 909 096) Quantum Residential Property Trust (ARSN 1695 569 335) Quantum USA Residential Property Fund (ARSN 150 434 138),...
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ASIC takes civil penalty action against American Express Australia in first court case alleging breaches of design and distribution obligations
ASIC has commenced proceedings in the Federal Court against American Express Australia Limited (Amex), in ASIC’s first civil penalty case alleging breaches of design and distribution obligations. The case concerns two credit cards issued by Amex that were co-branded with retailer David Jones (the credit cards). Under the design and distribution obligations, Amex was required...
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Federal Court upholds ASIC’s appeal on John Gilliland
The Federal Court has set aside a decision of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) not to disqualify John Gilliland’s self-managed super fund (SMSF) auditor registration. Following an appeal by ASIC, the Court found that general deterrence is a relevant consideration in deciding whether to disqualify a person as an approved SMSF auditor under section 130F...
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ASIC issues infringement notices against investment manager for greenwashing
ASIC has issued three infringement notices to investment manager Vanguard Investments Australia Ltd (Vanguard) in further action against alleged greenwashing. ASIC was concerned that Product Disclosure Statements for the Vanguard International Shares Select Exclusions Index Funds (the Vanguard Funds) may have been liable to mislead the public by overstating an exclusion, otherwise known as an...
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ASIC highlights focus areas for 31 December 2022 reporting
ASIC is urging directors, preparers of annual and half-year reports, and auditors to assess whether companies’ financial reports provide useful and meaningful information for investors and other users, as it highlights key focus areas for reporting by companies for full and half-years ending 31 December 2022. ASIC Commissioner Sean Hughes said, ‘Directors should ensure that...
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ESMA WELCOMES NCAS’ WORK TO MAINTAIN RESILIENCE OF LIABILITY DRIVEN INVESTMENT FUNDS
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s financial markets regulator and supervisor, is welcoming the initiative of two National Competent Authorities (NCAs) in relation to Liability Driven Investment Funds (LDI Funds). Today, the Central Bank of Ireland (CBI), and the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF) published letters addressed to LDI fund...
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ESMA AMENDS AND CONSULTS ON STANDARDS FOR BENCHMARK ADMINISTRATOR APPLICATIONS
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s financial markets regulator and supervisor, today published a Final Report on the review of the regulatory technical standards (RTS) on the form and content of applications for recognition by non-EU benchmark administrators, and consultation on amendments to the RTS on the information that EU benchmark administrators...
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Restrictions placed on Micro-E C.I.C
On 16 November 2022, we imposed a number of requirements on Micro-E C.I.C. (Micro-E), an authorized High-Cost Lender, and required Micro-E to cease providing either loans or credit to any new or existing customers.
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ASIC updates guidance on ETP naming conventions
ASIC has updated its guidance on naming conventions for licensed Australian exchanges that admit exchange-traded products (ETPs) following a public consultation. As proposed in Consultation Paper 356 ETP naming conventions: Updates to INFO 230 (CP 356), ASIC has divided the naming conventions into two levels of labeling: primary labels (‘ETF’ and ‘Structured Product’) based on...
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