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Dodgy ASIC that has no appetite for truthful reporting, and in response to my demands circa 2003, asked a lady named Mary Goode to attend a spruiker seminar in the interests of CONSUMER PROTECTION.
ASIC in response to bad press over spruikers, generated by my work in Melbourne and Sydney at that time, had an attack of the “willbees.” Ie “we will be getting tough on creating wealth industry” - funded by the Major Banks. Another ASIC Report on Spruikers was then written by ASIC staffer Deborah Latimer and produced in Parliament later in 2003 in response to Stephen Conroy’s attack on ASIC morons. The Conroy questions were mine. Since then ASIC even CREATED on their website a creating wealth industry page extolling the virtues of this debt and death trap to help the banks make more money from vulnerable older persons.
The Spruiker channel fed into the seller channel re investment properties in far-away states and also DODGY DEVELOPER SCAMS like LMIM….all bank driven. NOW in 2017 ASIC ON SNOOZE ALERT has announced it may get tough on spruikers and creating wealth. OMG: a modicum of movement, or is this more of the same neglect and just poncing about? Dumb ASIC "goes under cover?" Are u kidding me? They alert the spruikers to their UNDERCOVER plan in advance by "infamous willbee statements?" Bankers pay for the 5 star venues so they probably gave ASIC a "Gold Pass" nd best seats in house!!!! Ask victims of managed investment scams in Hong Kong, Thailand and the Chinese in Shanghai re BANK STING creating wealth seminars where they have lost all their savings!!!
Thanks to ASIC Australia is the WHITE COLLAR CAPITAL OF THE WORLD and backed up by ASIC Chief Greg Medcraft (ex Societe Generale).
Now you can be appalled at this ASIC proof of crappy regulatory nothingness. Banker Mates and nothing to do with the MYTH known as Consumer Protection.
ASIC goes undercover to expose property spruikers
Australian Financial Review Feb 16 2017 6:43 PM
Duncan Hughes
Australian Securities and Investments Commission investigators pretending to be investors will pursue property spruikers and identify shonky practices in a planned probe into self-managed super funds, according to deputy chairman Peter Kell.
The regulator said recent court decisions had given it a green light to launch the probe into spruikers, despite it not being responsible for real estate agents or the sale of property.
Increased funding from the federal government will be used to complement ASIC's investigators with outside undercover consultants who will visit financial advisers to seek advice on self-managed super.
"Our particular concern is the quality of financial advice," Mr Kell said.
"Whether it is given in such a way as SMSF investors understand their obligations, requirements and experience needed to make a decision," he said.
It will also focus on whether investors understand costs, additional administration, asset allocation and have enough assets to justify setting up a fund, he said.
There is about $650 billion held in some 580,000 funds, or nearly one-quarter of the nation's $2.3 trillion worth of super assets.
The regulator will review files and written advice of advisers in addition to verbal recommendations made directly to its undercover officers pretending to be clients, he said.
The timing has not been revealed to ensure the quality of research is not compromised. It is expected to national and engage a range of advisers, from sole operators to networks.
ASIC is concerned some unscrupulous property spruikers could persuade gullible investors to set up a fund and use their superannuation assets to buy an investment property despite lack of diversification, high commissions and vulnerability to volatile property markets.
In recent years ASIC has established its authority to monitor and regulate property spruikers even though there is a separate real estate body.
For example, the NSW Supreme Court upheld prosecution of Park Trent Properties Group being barred from offering unauthorised investment recommendations to buy property for SMSFs.
"The resourcing of shadow-shop will be drawn from additional funding the federal government announced in the second half of last year, enabling a broad review that will provide a significant insight into current practices and performance, especially the 'best interests' requirement," a spokesman said.
SMSF limited-recourse borrowing – which ensures the creditor has limited redress in the case of default – is very popular with business owners or professionals, such as dentists or lawyers, using the schemes to purchase their work premises, providing valuable tax breaks and the prospect of capital growth.
Financial advisers and mortgage brokers claim there has been a decrease in some of the more flagrant violations, such as lunch-time seminars aimed at encouraging investments, typically off-the-plan apartments.
But there are still offers circulating on the internet and direct offers from real estate agents and developers to advisers and investors, some encouraging scheme members to set up property development companies.