Former adviser cops 3-year ban

The corporate regulator has banned former financial adviser Gawad Nabi for three years.

Nabi was an authorised representative of Life Plan FP from 23 March 2018 to 31 March 2021, a director from 15 November 2019 to 30 December 2022, and a responsible manager from 19 January 2020 to 31 August 2022.

He is also a director of Guardian Group Financial Planning, a position he has held since 5 January 2018.

An Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) review of advice provided by Nabi found he had “breached various financial services laws by failing to act in the best interests of clients, failing to provide advice that was appropriate to his clients, by not prioritising the interest of his clients above his own (or that of his AFS licensee), and by providing his clients with a disclosure statement that contained misleading or deceptive statements”.

The regulator said that it found Nabi has failed to maintain the high standards expected of a provider of financial services, that he does not understand the duties and obligations imposed by the Corporations Act on a provider of financial services, and that he cannot be relied upon to discharge the duties and obligations imposed by the act on a provider of financial services.

It added that the banning is part of ASIC’s “ongoing efforts to improve standards across the financial advice industry”.