Dixon Advisory slapped with lawsuit over poor retirement advice

Law firm Maurice Blackburn is representing Clare Nairn and Mark O’Toole in a lawsuit against Dixon Advisory over allegedly inappropriate super advice in regard to the couple’s self-managed super fund which left them some $900,000 worse off.

Speaking to ifa, Craig Parrish, principal lawyer at Maurice Blackburn, confirmed that, according to the firm’s evidence, Dixon exposed the couple to financial harm for its own financial gain.

“Our clients placed their trust in Dixon Advisory as their professional advisers to help them plan for retirement in a balanced and measured way, and instead Dixon Advisory exposed our clients to a level of non-diversified and highly leveraged risk which they did not want nor need and invested them in products in which Dixon Advisory had a financial interest,” Mr Parrish said.

“Our evidence suggests that had Dixon recommended that our clients invest their super in a balanced portfolio over the same period, our clients would have been almost $900k better off today.”

This is the first one of these matters issued by Maurice Blackburn, but based on a number of client inquiries they’ve received, the firm is confident this will not be the last.

“We anticipate there are many others in a similar boat,” Mr Parrish said.

“Any clients of Dixon Advisory who believe the investments recommended to them may have been inappropriate for their goals and objectives, or performed below their reasonable expectations, are encouraged to contact us for further advice.”

Dixon Advisory declined to comment to ifa.

Just a few months ago, Dixon Advisory agreed to pay a $7.2 million penalty for breaches of the Corporations Act after the corporate regulator commenced civil proceedings against the firm for alleged conflicts.

ASIC claimed that Dixon Advisory representatives knew or ought to have known that there was a conflict between their clients’ interests and the interests of entities associated within the Evans Dixon Group.

In July, ASIC confirmed that it and Dixon had entered into heads of agreement which included court-ordered mediation and a hefty fine.