While financial planning is on the pathway to professionalism, its education standards continue to be the subject of much discussion – and for good reason. The current standards set by ASIC mandate a comparatively…
There is evidence Australia’s bank bill swap rate was manipulated: so what now for regulators?
AAP/Dan Peled
The wheels of justice grind exceedingly slow and nowhere slower than in the Sydney headquarters of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). A recent report appears to show that ASIC…
Senator Jacqui Lambie has voted against changes to the Future of Financial Advice reforms.
Alan Porritt/AAP
Last week brought the latest instalment in the continuing Australian financial planning industry saga. Senators Jacqui Lambie and Ricky Muir blocked the Abbott government’s rollback of some of Labor’s…
A national financial planning register is unlikely to prevent future scandals similar to those of the Commonwealth Bank.
AAP
Under changes proposed by the government, financial planners will be required to register with the Australian Securities and Investment Commission from next March. They will need to provide details of…
The performance of ASIC in regulating financial fraud remains under question, despite Chairman Greg Medcraft’s recanted statement that Australia is a “paradise” for white-collar criminals.
Britta Campion/AAP
Recently, the head of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, Greg Medcraft, called Australia a “paradise” for white-collar criminals. Soon after he recanted, claiming he didn’t want the…
Charis Palmer, The Conversation and Emil Jeyaratnam, The Conversation
The typical insider trader is male, aged between 30 and 49, and holds a company director position, according to a new study from researchers at the University of Melbourne. The study analysed all insider…
Woolworths’ attempt to takeover David Jones has raised questions about whether shareholder approval should be mandatory.
Dan Himbrechts/AAP
The fastest growing sector in the economy today is not mining, retailing or even education. It’s superannuation, which accounts for almost 30% more than the total savings held by the banking and mutual…
Joe Hockey’s mother-in-law was a victim of the Commonwealth Bank scandal, in which many people lost savings due to rogue financial advisers in part of the CBA group. But Hockey has been keeping his distance…
The spotlight is on the David Murray’s Financial System inquiry following a report critical of the Commonwealth Bank and Australia’s corporate regulator.
AAP/Joel Carrett
The Senate inquiry in the actions of the Commonwealth Bank and the Australian Securities and Investment Commission has drawn a line in the sand, holding the banks and financial advisers to account for…
The Commonwealth Bank and ASIC may face a Royal Commission.
AAP/Dan Peled
A senate inquiry has called for the Commonwealth Bank (CBA) and Australia’s corporate regulator, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), to be investigated by a Royal Commission. The…
Credit makes us and credit breaks us – ancient Roman debtors cut into pieces by their angry creditors under the law of the Twelve Tables knew it, as does ASIC, tasked with regulating the many mortgage…
ASIC Commissioner Greg Tanzer has this week faced the scrutiny of a Senate committee hearing.
AAP/Paul Miller
In 2005, the Federal Court faced the difficult task of arriving at a penalty for Steve Vizard after he was found in breach of his duties as a director of Telstra. In his judgment, Raymond Finkelstein criticised…
ASIC warns: forex currency trading requires a high degree of skill, and consumers should be aware of the risks and potential for loss.
Image of finance chart with sell/buy dice from www.shutterstock.com
With the value of the Australian dollar falling more than 10 cents in the past few months, should we all be hedging our bets and trading the Aussie for a fast profit? There’s no shortage of foreign currency…
Simplifying the disclosure required for employee share schemes will be welcomed by companies, but employees still need to read the fine print.
jeff_golden/Flickr
The implementation of employee share schemes could be expanded and the red tape surrounding them relaxed under policy reforms being considered by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. While…
Former Gunns chairman John Gay is the most senior executive to have been convicted of insider trading in Australia. He received a fine of $50,000.
David Beniuk/AAP
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission is moving to “real-time” monitoring of share trading as another weapon in the ongoing fight against insider trading. But will the use of this form of…
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has called for more powers, including a broadening of the definition of “whistleblower”, in a paper defending its role as the corporate watchdog. ASIC’s…
Health insurance infomediary iSelect saw a 15% decline in its share price immediately after listing on the ASX in June.
AAP/Paul Miller
Insurance infomediary iSelect lost its chief executive this week, just four months after the company went public, and less than two years into the role. iSelect blamed the resignation on a “difference…
While ASIC Chairman Greg Medcraft this week warned the Australian funds management industry to clean up their act, in the UK, financial regulators will soon have the power to intervene directly in the market.
AAP
In opening the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) forum this week, chairman Greg Medcraft pulled no punches. “Manufacturers [i.e. banks and financial institutions] - and, frankly, this…
Are the algorithms used in high frequency trading a threat to the markets themselves? ASIC says the danger is “overstated” but the FBI and the SEC have joined forces.
AAP
In language that is more in keeping with hackers and crime syndicates, the Financial Times reported last week that the FBI was going to assist securities regulators in the US to tackle “dark pools” and…
As the ABC’s Four Corners explored, small investors are being caught in an unregulated investment market, often with devastating results. Has the corporate regulator dropped the ball - or is it juggling too many?
ABC Four Corners
Stephen Long’s story last night on the ABC’s Four Corners beautifully illustrated the human cost of financial misconduct, as retirees and widows described the pain of having lost their super funds and…