Hayne royal commission spotlight fells adviser with 10-year ban

A financial adviser whose practices came to national attention during the Hayne royal commission has been banned by ASIC for 10 years.

A financial adviser whose practices came to national attention during the Hayne royal commission has been banned by corporate regulator ASIC for 10 years.

Financial adviser Chris Harris was banned after ASIC found he had not acted in the best interests of some of his clients and engaged in conduct that was likely to mislead or deceive.

“In statements made on the Money Works website and in correspondence to clients, Mr Harris gave the false impression that he was authorised to provide financial services, ASIC said in a statement issue on Monday. “ASIC found that by doing so, Mr Harris had engaged in conduct that was likely to mislead or deceive.”

Mr Harris has requested a review of ASIC’s decision in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

The Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry reviewed the conduct of work provided by Mr Harris at his Adelaide-based business.

The report noted that in 2013 Mr Harris’ files were audited by ANZ-owned Millennium3 noting they had received the lowest available score.

The commission heard from ANZ executive Darren Whereat that during 2016 concerns were raised that Mr Harris was failing to provide ongoing services for which clients were paying fees.

Millennium3 was sold by ANZ to wealth manager IOOF in October 2018.

The royal commission’s report noted that a review of Mr Harris by Millennium3 in early 2017 identified non-delivery of ongoing services, failure to provide fee disclosure statements, and the provision of inappropriate advice and advice outside authorisation.

Mr Harris was terminated by Millennium3 in April 2017 and a letter was sent to ASIC about his conduct, but that letter did not identify that it had breached Section 912D of the Corporations Act.

Dover responsible manager and owner Terry McMaster leaves the Federal Court with the aid of paramedics after collapsing while being questioned during the Banking Royal Commission in Melbourne, Thursday, April 26, 2018. Picture: AAP

Following this, Mr Harris then worked as an authorised representative for Dover Financial Services, which also appeared before the royal commission.

Dover CEO Terry McMaster, who collapsed while giving evidence before the commission, was convicted in the Federal Court in November 2019 for false and misleading conduct.

Dover was found to have breached the Corporations Act more than 19,000 times.