Important information for clients and advisers of Spectrum Wealth Advisers (afsl 334400)
ASIC wishes to advise clients of Spectrum Wealth Advisers Pty Ltd (Spectrum) and financial advisers represented under Spectrum’s Australian financial services (AFS) licence (AFSL No 334400) that the company is seeking to cancel its licence and is no longer providing financial services. Spectrum is a Sydney-based AFS license holder with representatives around the country.
What this means for clients of Spectrum
Spectrum has advised that it has stopped providing financial services. Therefore, advisers who are authorised through Spectrum’s AFS licence will need to become authorised by another AFS licensee before they can continue to provide financial advice to their clients.
If you are a client of Spectrum and wish to find a new adviser, you should make sure you are dealing with an adviser authorised by an AFS licensee.
ASIC’s MoneySmart website has guidance on how to choose a financial adviser.
If you are concerned about advice you received from a Spectrum adviser, you can consider:
- lodging a complaint with Spectrum via its internal dispute resolution process;
- notifying a dispute with Spectrum’s external dispute resolution provider, the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) https://www.afca.org.au; and/or
- contacting your current financial adviser or obtaining independent legal advice.
Guidance for former-Spectrum advisers
A person cannot give financial advice unless licensed or authorised by an AFS licensee.
ASIC understands that Spectrum has advised all representatives to cease providing financial services and is in the process of revoking the advice authorisations of all its representatives. This means ex-Spectrum advisers cannot give new advice until authorised by another AFS licensee.
Background
On 30 May 2019, Spectrum advised ASIC that it would seek to voluntarily cancel its AFS licence because of the departure of some key persons and responsible managers. This information was subsequently disclosed to the market by Spectrum’s parent entity, Freedom Insurance Group, on 31 May 2019.
ASIC has previously notified Spectrum that it was considering suspending or cancelling Spectrum’s AFS licence because of concerns that Spectrum had failed to meet some of its legal obligations.