AAT stays ASIC adviser banning

In a statement today, ASIC said its decision on 8 September to ban former financial adviser Michael Spencer from providing financial services for three years has been put on hold following Mr Spencer's request to the AAT for a review into ASIC’s decision.

Mr Spencer filed an application for review of ASIC’s ban on 14 September and also applied for a stay on ASIC’s decision, the statement said.

On 2 November, the AAT made orders staying the operation and implementation of ASIC's decision until the review application is heard and determined, ASIC said.

Further, Mr Spencer has given undertakings to the AAT that he will not: deal in the derivatives market; make a market for a financial product; or seek or obtain employment as a trader while the stay is in effect, ASIC said.

Back in September, ASIC banned Mr Spencer for engaging in the manipulation of three types of MINI warrants issued by Credit Suisse, commonly called "MINIs". MINIs are a type of derivative product traded on the ASX.

ASIC found that on four separate days in May 2013, Mr Spencer took part in back-to-back buy and sell trades in MINIs on ASX with a former employee of Credit Suisse after the pair had pre-arranged the MINI series, the price, the volume and the approximate timing of the trades.

On each occasion, the MINI series chosen, the volume and the prices at which the trades were conducted did not reflect the earlier trading by Credit Suisse in the underlying on behalf of Mr Spencer, ASIC said.

ASIC found that the prices at which Mr Spencer and the former employee of Credit Suisse arranged to trade MINIs were designed to transfer the agreed profits from all the preceding trading.

This was likely to have the effect of creating an artificial price for trading in the affected MINIs on ASX, ASIC said.