Rogue MP was CBA adviser in past life

A CBA spokesperson has confirmed to ifa that the independent member for the Melbourne suburban seat of Frankston – who was suspended and fined by the Victorian Parliament in June after being found to have misused his privileges – was previously an adviser licensed by one of the bank’s subsidiaries.

“Geoff Shaw became an authorised representative of Financial Wisdom on 8 November 2006,” the spokesperson said. “He ceased as an individual authorised representative on 8 August 2010 and as a corporate authorised representative on 1 April 2011.”

Reports in the Fairfax newspapers reveal that Mr Shaw was no stranger to controversy in his advice career either, having been suspended by the FPA for 12 months in 2009.

A spokesperson for the FPA told ifa the association does not “comment on investigations” due to its “constitution and privacy obligations”, but The Sunday Age newspaper has reported that the FPA’s Conduct Review Commission found Mr Shaw had engaged in “unlawful conduct” that reflected a “lapse in integrity” in relation to his advising a client to invest in a yacht restoration and sales business in which he had a personal stake.

In addition, the newspaper report asserts that “the Commonwealth Bank continued to employ Mr Shaw as a financial planner despite official findings exposing his misconduct”.

FOS reportedly handed down a determination against Mr Shaw during his time as a CBA-aligned adviser which ruled that Mr Shaw had “breached his duty of care and statutory obligations under the Corporations Act”.