ASIC slaps ban on unlicensed individual

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) said on Friday it has banned former mortgage broker and property spruiker Christine Betty Childs from providing financial services for eight years.

ASIC banned Mrs Childs, a former director of Think Money and Think Money Wealth Through Property, for operating an unlicensed financial services business. Mrs Childs was found to have recommended clients to invest in property through their superannuation, which included advising them to rollover their existing superannuation into self-managed superannuation funds.

According to ASIC, this conduct misled or deceived Mrs Child’s clients who reasonably assumed that she was appropriately licensed to give them such advice.

In addition to operating without a license, Mrs Childs was found by the regulator to have been involved in several other misconducts. Firstly, she was said to have played a significant role in Think Money's failure to comply with an Australian Financial Complaints Authority decision to compensate one of its clients. Secondly, ASIC found that Mrs Childs had participated in the disposal of the company's trail book of commissions before its liquidation, which had resulted in creditors of Think Money suffering losses due to reduced funds for distribution.

The ban prevents Mrs Childs from providing financial services, controlling an entity that carries on a financial services business, and performing any function involved in carrying on a financial services business.

She has the right to appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for a review of ASIC’s decision.