ASIC announced that has banned Mr Stuart Arnold-Levy from providing financial services for a period of four years and Mr David Heycock from providing financial services for a period of six years following an investigation.
Mr Heycock was the director of Corporate Superannuation Pty Ltd (previously Australian Superannuation Pty Ltd and Superannuation in Australia Today Pty Ltd) which traded under the business name MySuperMan. Mr Arnold-Levy was an employee of Corporate Superannuation Pty Ltd (and its predecessor entities) before subsequently becoming the director.
The MySuperMan business provided financial advice services and operated from offices in Carlton, Victoria.
ASIC’s investigation focused on the period 2013 – 2015 and identified concerns in relation to the activities of Mr Heycock and Mr Arnold-Levy including:
- poor and unlicensed advice provided by them to certain clients;
- money loaned to clients of MySuperMan by entities related to Mr Heycock, and money loaned by clients’ self managed superannuation funds to the MySuperMan business itself; and
- information and advice provided to clients and former clients in relation to a residential property development in Footscray, Victoria.
As a result of the investigation, ASIC found that Mr Heycock had breached the Corporations Act by:
- operating a financial services business and providing financial advice without holding an Australian Financial Services (AFS) licence and without being authorised by an AFS licence holder to do so; and
- providing financial advice that was not in clients’ best interests or appropriate for their situation, failing to provide statements of advice and failing to disclose potentially conflicted remuneration.
ASIC also found that Mr Arnold-Levy had breached the Corporations Act by:
- being aware of and involved in Mr Heycock’s unlicensed conduct; and
- providing financial advice that was not in clients’ best interests and not appropriate for their circumstances.
Mr Arnold-Levy and Mr Heycock each have the right to appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for a review of ASIC’s decision.