A Newcastle financial adviser named in an adverse Federal Court judgment against AMP in 2020 has now been banned for five years for conduct while still working for the company.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission announced this week that it had banned Darron Mink from providing financial services or engaging in credit activities after finding he "placed himself in a position of real conflict of interest".
Mr Mink was an authorised adviser for AMP Financial Planning as the sole director of Newcastle firm Pinnacle Financial and Investment Services Pty Ltd.
The bans prevent Mr Mink from controlling a financial services business or performing any function involved in carrying on such a business.
ASIC found Mr Mink is "not adequately trained or competent to provide financial services or engage in credit activities" due to his conduct when he "placed himself in a position of real conflict of interest and he failed to appropriately manage that conflict".
The regulator also found he failed to provide appropriate advice to some clients; provided advice documents which were confusing and did not reflect all of the advice provided; and does not understand the importance of following a proper process in relation to obtaining client signatures.
The ban announced this week is not the first time Mr Mink has caught ASIC's eye.
In February 2020, he was named in a Federal Court judgment which resulted in a $5.18 million fine for AMP.
ASIC took AMP to court alleging the company had failed to ensure six of its advisers acted in the best interests of their clients.
Justice Lee found AMP was guilty of a "lamentable failure of corporate will to take the necessary steps to prevent greedy and unlawful conduct taking place".
Mr Mink was named as one of the advisers accused of "churning" clients unnecessarily through a series of AMP life insurance products to earn commissions between 2013 and 2015.
The court judgment shows lawyers for AMP admitted to ASIC in May 2019 that the six advisers, including Mr Mink, had been involved in the insurance "rewriting", in breach of the Corporations Act.
The ASIC financial advisers register shows Mr Mink continued to represent AMP as an authorised adviser until October 23, 2020, eight months after the adverse judgment and 17 months after the company admitted he had breached the Corporations Act.
ASIC confirmed on Friday that Mr Mink's five-year ban related to his conduct while he was a financial adviser for AMP Financial Planning.
The Newcastle Herald asked AMP why it had continued to authorise Mr Mink as one of its financial advisers after the Federal Court case and whether it had exposed its customers to risk as a result.
The company said in a statement: "Mr Mink's authorised representative status as an AMP-aligned adviser was revoked in 2020 following a review and AMP has compensated clients where it was determined there were instances of inappropriate advice.
"Revocation of an adviser's authorisation is not a step we take lightly and any decision to do so is driven by AMP's focus on ensuring advisers act in the best interest of clients and in accordance with the advisers' as well as our licensee obligations."
ASIC made the banning orders in June before Mr Mink applied to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for a review of ASIC's decisions and for stay and confidentiality orders.
Mr Mink withdrew his application for stay and confidentiality orders last week.
In August, AMP settled a class action for $110 million after admitting during the 2018 banking royal commission that it had systematically charged fees to customers who did not receive any services and withheld information about these breaches from ASIC.
The revelations led to a sharp decline of about 11 per cent in AMP's share price, pushing shareholders to launch the class action against the financial firm.
Do you know more? mparris@newcastleherald.com.au
