The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) has banned financial adviser Travis Byron McLean from providing financial services for a period of five years.

ASIC found that Mr McLean failed to act in his clients' best interests when providing advice and that he failed to comply with several financial services laws.

ASIC Deputy Chairman Peter Kell said, 'Consumers should be confident that their financial adviser is acting in their best interests.'

'The business model of simply 'selling' life insurance without complying with the legal and regulatory obligations will not be tolerated by ASIC. Advisers who fail to give compliant advice will be removed from the industry.'

ASIC's surveillance of Mr McLean found that he failed to:

• provide sufficient detail in Statements of Advice to enable his clients to make informed decisions about his advice;
• keep proper records;
• make reasonable enquires into clients' relevant objectives, financial situation and needs;
• determine if the amounts of insurance cover he recommended were appropriate and if premiums were affordable; and
• conduct a reasonable investigation into financial products that might achieve the objectives of the clients.

ASIC's surveillance of Mr McLean looked at a number of his client files from the time he was an authorised representative of Millennium3 Financial Services Pty Ltd (3 July 2006 to 31 December 2014) and Total Financial Solutions Australia Pty Ltd (TFSA) (20 February 2015 to 31 July 2017).

Mr McLean's banning will be recorded on ASIC's register of financial advisers.

Mr McLean has the right to appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for a review of ASIC's decision.

Background

The banning of Mr McLean is part of ASIC's Wealth Management Project. The Wealth Management Project was established in October 2014 to lift the standards of major financial advice providers. The Wealth Management Project focuses on the conduct of the largest financial advice firms (NAB, Westpac, CBA, ANZ, Macquarie and AMP).

ASIC's work in the Wealth Management Project covers a number of areas including:

• working with the largest financial advice firms to address the identification and remediation of non-compliant advice
• seeking regulatory outcomes, where appropriate, against licensees and advisers.

As part of its Wealth Management Project, ASIC has banned 36 advisers from the financial services industry. One adviser banning is the subject of an appeal.

Editor's note 1:

On 17 August 2017, Mr McLean lodged an application for review of ASIC's decision with the AAT.

On 18 August 2017 Mr McLean lodged a stay application with the AAT.　

Editor's note 2:

On 7 November 2017, Mr McLean withdrew his application for review of ASIC's decision with the AAT.