ASIC bans Hunter Valley adviser

Sean Philip Lewis was banned following an ASIC surveillance of his advice during his time as an authorised representative of Spectrum Wealth Advisers. ASIC found that Mr Lewis failed to provide advice that was in the best interests of his clients and failed to provide advice that was appropriate for his clients’ objectives.

“Mr Lewis advised most of his clients to use a limited recourse borrowing arrangement (LRBA) to fund the purchase of real property through a self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF),” ASIC said in a statement. “Mr Lewis also gave insurance advice to all clients.

“When providing this advice, Mr Lewis did not professionally and independently assess whether using an SMSF and borrowed funds to invest in property was an appropriate strategy for each of his clients. He also did not adequately investigate or offer any alternative investment strategies that may have provided greater diversification of risks.”

ASIC also found that Mr Lewis prioritised his own interests over that of his clients by providing insurance advice that would generate large commissions for himself, regardless of whether the recommended products were appropriate for clients.

Mr Lewis has been an authorised representative of Wealth Today Pty Ltd (October 2010 to January 2012), GWM Adviser Services, which is owned by NAB (January 2012 to November 2012) and AMP Financial Planning (December 2012 to January 2013), among others.