Former financial adviser Richard Thomas Marshall has been banned from providing financial services for six years and his wife, Gwenda Jean Marshall, has been banned for three years.

An ASIC delegate found Mr and Mrs Marshall carried on a financial services business without holding an AFS licence from July 2015 until May 2021.

Mr Marshall advised clients of his company, RT Marshall Pty Ltd, many of whom were elderly, to open margin lending accounts and appoint himself or Mrs Marshall as an authorised person to trade shares on behalf of those clients. Mr Marshall arranged for shares to be traded on client accounts by instructing Mrs Marshall to execute the share trades on behalf of the clients. The clients were charged substantial fees for these services ranging from $3,000 to $20,000 per client, per financial year.

Further, the ASIC delegate was satisfied there was evidence that Mr Marshall withdrew money from a deceased client’s estate without authority. He then failed to refund the money to the deceased’s estate when requested to do so.

In banning Mr Marshall, ASIC found that his conduct demonstrated that he was not a fit and proper person to provide financial services.

The ban prevents Mr and Mrs Marshall from providing any financial service, controlling an entity that carries on a financial services business and performing any function involved in carrying on a financial services business.

Mr Marshall and Mrs Marshall have the right to appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for a review of ASIC’s decision.

Mr Marshall and Mrs Marshall’s banning is recorded on ASIC’s banned and disqualified register.

Editor's note 1:

On 24 November 2022, Mr and Mrs Marshall lodged applications with the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for a review of ASIC’s decision.

Editor's note 2:

On 21 July 2023, Mr and Mrs Marshall’s applications with the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for a review of ASIC’s decision were withdrawn and dismissed.