Guvera

Jun 13, 2022

Amma’s conference offer to accountants. But Oculus maintained they had never “recommended Guvera shares”, “had merely passed on information relating to Guvera”, and only referred clients to Amma, so they could receive investment advice there. The couple alleged such a referral was negligent, which Oculus denied. Knowledge gaps The accountancy’s defence conceded to receiving from Amma “bonus shares in Guvera for clients that subscribed in Guvera as a gratuity”. It maintained clients were told of the arrangement; the couple said this was not disclosed. The matter was discontinued before a ruling was made. Advertisement Financial Planning Association of Australia chief executive Sarah Abood said there were “situations where a financial planner should recommend a client speaks to another specialist”. That could be when the adviser has little knowledge in an area about which the client wants specific advice. “If a client has asked for advice on a non-mainstream investment (such as crypto) with elevated risks and volatility, it would be good practice for the planner to provide the client with some perspective around the elevated risk and the unregulated nature of the investment. “If they still referred, the planner would also need to make clear that they did not endorse or recommend the referee or asset class,” she said. “If a client had been proactively referred by the planner and the planner had received a commission, this would likely be a breach of our code of professional practice.” Overall impression Accounting organisations said they had guidelines and rules to avoid clients perceiving introductions as endorsements, or on handling potential conflicts of interest. Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, for instance, has a guide outlining scenarios that could blow up if an accountant discussed with a client an investment in which the accountant themselves had an interest. Advertisement The guidelines detail handling such conflicts, including either not acting for the client or clearly disclosing and documenting the issue. For financial planners, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s regulatory guide warns about communications crossing from providing pure factual information into product advice. People need to consider the “overall impression and circumstances” of communications with clients. “A communication is more likely to be financial product advice [if the communicator] stands to benefit depending on the decisions made by a client. This is because an intention to influence may be more readily inferred,” ASIC’s guideline states. At least one part of iQ Group had, in documentation seen by the Financial Review, offered a fee of 5 per cent of any investor’s funds that were “introduced” by a “service provider”. ‘Private, confidential client information’ But not every adviser or accountant will accept fees or commissions. The Financial Review doesn’t suggest that the financial adviser who emailed the introduction to iQ Group Global for the client accepted any commission – when comment was sought they declined to answer questions. “I’ve got nothing to say to you,” the adviser said before hanging up. Advertisement That planner is part of a small outfit then called Vogue Financial, whose managing director, Paul Giordano, is noted in creditor meeting minutes as being the proxy representative for almost 20 creditors. They include individuals and private superannuation funds. They are owed almost $4.7 million. Mr Giordano, also an FPA planner, said neither he nor a close family member had taken any commissions. He declined to answer wider questions about commissions and other remuneration. “I look after my clients very well. And I’m helping my clients through the process,” he said. But why were clients with iQ Group in the first place? “That’s private confidential client information,” he said. He declined to comment about introductions. The clients were in iQ Group after the Financial Review wrote stories since last 2020 questioning the biotechnology outfit’s offers. Mr Giordano pointed out he dealt with “wholesale sophisticated clients”. They are investors who might have large amounts of assets or income, such as $2.5 million in net assets or can just stump $500,000 directly into an investment. Advertisement Mr Giordano rejected questions of this nature. “There’s no ASIC test other than the financial quantitative test,” he said. His firm looked at a “range of different investment opportunities for our clients”, he said. “So how or why they may be invested, well, it is part of what we do. “We help clients invest their money. Some investments are higher risk. Some investments are lower risk. “The sophisticated clients that we work with have the knowledge and the capability to make an informed decision around where they put their money.” Mr Giordano said he would have a “detailed conversation” once iQ Group entities’ restructuring was complete and administration was over. Liam Walsh is a reporter with the Australian Financial Review Email Liam at liam.walsh@fairfaxmedia.com.au Save