Being able to sever ties with an adviser who is causing you to
breach your AFSL obligations is an important consideration for
licensees.
AR agreements and internal auditors
You should be sure that your authorised representative
agreements ('AR agreements') provide you with sufficient
ability to terminate advisers at short notice for material
compliance breaches. You should also be careful about the
representations your internal auditors make to advisers. If
auditors get this wrong, an adviser can develop a false sense of
security about their appointment.
McDonald v AMP Financial Planning Pty Ltd
These are important lessons arising from the 2018 case of McDonald
v AMP Financial Planning Pty Ltd. The case also includes
useful judicial commentary on the best interests obligations,
personal advice and the use of ROAs – all areas of interest
to ASIC.
