Adam Bevan, a former financial advisor and director for Trade Wind Financial Services, has seen his trading license get revoked. The ban will be in place for five years and leaves him unable to be in charge of any business that carries out financial services or partake in any job related to the financial services sector. This ban was carried out by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.
The Gold Coast-based company will now have to undergo several restrictions on trading. This comes after a range of licensing discrepancies were discovered surrounding Mr Bevan and Trade Wind. This caused ASIC to take a deeper look into the activities of the defendant and his company.
ASIC carried out an investigation on Bevan and found that he had failed to carry out the required checks in regards to superannuation funds on three occasions. Each event was concerning a different client. On top of this misdemeanor, it was also found that Bevan failed to comply with rulings made against Trade Wind by the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFSL).
Other issues surrounding Trade Wind included the failure to provide audited accounts for both 2019 and 2020. There was also a change in the key people within the AFSL for the company, and Trade Wind didn’t notify ASIC when doing so.
This has led to trading licenses for both Bevan and Trade Wind Financial Services being revoked by the AFSL. Although the Trade Wind license ban has been put in place since the 26th of May, the company will still be allowed to trade until the end of August. This is to ensure that any clients who still have funds with the company will be able to gain access to their accounts and undergo a transition. There will also be a system to resolve any disputes and provide insurance for clients who may have been mismanaged. During this time, Trade Wind will be unable to carry out any new trades, nor will it be able to sign up any new clients.
The license had been held by Trade Wind since 2010 and so had previously had a decade of trading under its belt. Mr Bevan has decided to contest the decision and he will be going to an appeals tribunal to try and get a reversal.
ASIC recently cancelled the AFS licence of BBY Limited but according to the terms, the licence will continue in effect until 31 March 2022. These terms will allow BBY clients to continue to have access to an external dispute resolution scheme and to the National Guarantee Fund.
