ASIC bans two former Macquarie advisers

In a statement, the corporate regulator said it had banned Sarah Kate Gardner of Mooloolaba, Queensland for one year and Anthony Jason Sourris, of Kenmore, Queensland for two and a half years.

Ms Gardner was a strategic financial planner in the Brisbane office of Macquarie Equities Limited between 2007 and 2013 while Mr Sourris was a private client adviser in the same office between 2008 and 2013.

ASIC found that in February 2013, Ms Gardner and Mr Sourris had been involved in the creation of a falsely-executed and backdated client authority form. They also lied to Macquarie about the validity of this document, ASIC said.

Mr Sourris also advised eight clients between September 2011 and November 2012 to open accounts to allow them to trade in exchange-traded options.

ASIC said Mr Sourris failed to properly determine whether this advice was appropriate for the clients. He also failed to provide a statement of advice before advising clients to apply to open the options accounts, according to the regulator.　

Mr Sourris and Ms Gardner have the right to appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for a review of ASIC's decision.