media release (26-027MR)

ASIC cancels AFS licence of Pulse Markets for serious and sustained breaches of duties

Published

ASIC has cancelled the Australian financial services (AFS) licence of securities dealer Pulse Markets Pty Ltd (Pulse Markets), effective from 11 February 2026.

The licence was cancelled after ASIC found Pulse Markets had serious and sustained breaches of its duties under s912A of the Corporations Act 2001. These included Pulse’s failure to adequately supervise its corporate authorised representatives (CARs) providing financial services under its AFS licence, increasing the risk they will not comply with financial services laws and put clients at risk of financial loss.

ASIC found that Pulse Markets failed to comply with its obligations, including failure to:

  • maintain the competence required to provide the financial services it offered
  • take reasonable steps to ensure that its representatives comply with the financial services laws by failing to:
    • undertake appropriate due diligence prior to the appointment of its CARs
    • take adequate steps to monitor the websites and marketing of its CARs
    • maintain adequate compliance, breach and incident registers, and
    • maintain compliance manuals with accurate information about AFS licence authorisations
  • ensure adequate resources, including staffing, to provide the financial services covered by the licence and to carry out supervisory arrangements
  • prepare and lodge financial statements (being a balance sheet and a profit and loss statement) for financial years 2024 and 2025
  • obtain an opinion by a registered company auditor regarding Pulse Market’s compliance with the financial conditions on their licence for financial years 2024 and 2025
  • pay its Industry Funding Levy for the 2023-2024 financial year.

Pulse Markets may apply to the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) for a review of ASIC’s decision.

Background

Pulse Markets is a Queensland-based securities dealer and has held AFS licence number 220383 since 7 June 2002. The licence authorised Pulse Markets to provide financial product advice, deal in financial products and underwrite an issue of securities, for wholesale clients.