ASIC’s ‘proactive review’ of FAR leads to permanent ban for adviser

In a statement on Thursday, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) said it has permanently banned Todd Karamian, the chief executive officer of North Sydney-based Bluepoint Consulting, from providing financial services and carrying on a financial services business after he falsified his financial adviser exam result.

ASIC found that in December 2021, Mr Karamian altered his Financial Adviser Certificate from a fail result to a pass result and sent the altered certificate to his licensee, Bluepoint Consulting, which was then subsequently provided to ASIC.

ASIC also found that Mr Karamian provided personal advice between 31 December 2021 to 9 September 2022 to 11 retail clients when he was not authorised to do so as he had failed the financial adviser exam.

“The ASIC delegate found that Mr Karamian is not competent and is not a fit and proper person to provide financial services,” the corporate regulator said. 

According to ASIC, the ban prevents Mr Karamian from providing any financial service, controlling an entity that carries on a financial services business, and performing any function involved in carrying on a financial services business.

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

ASIC explained that it identified Mr Karamian’s conduct through a “proactive review” of individuals who were listed as current financial advisers on the Financial Adviser Register (FAR) despite not having passed the financial adviser exam by 1 January 2022 or 1 October 2022 where the financial adviser qualified for the extension. 

The regulator disclosed that as a result of this review, the relevant AFS licensees (or where necessary, ASIC) have corrected the authorisation status or cease dates of over 1,300 individuals.

Australian Financial Services licensees are responsible for updating the FAR within 30 business days following a change to a financial adviser’s information, including whether the financial adviser has passed or failed the FA Exam.