Gold Coast accountant barred from providing financial services

ASIC has accepted a court enforceable undertaking (EU) from Gold Coast-based accountant, Jenan Oslem Thorne of Saber Superannuation Pty Ltd after it found she had prioritised her interests above that of her clients.

The undertaking prevents Mrs Thorne (also known as Cenan Thorne or Cenan Dikmen) from providing financial services for a period of three years effective from 13 February 2019.

ASIC decided to review Mrs Thorne's advice when it discovered, during its investigation into Park Trent Properties Group Pty Ltd, that she was receiving referrals in relation to establishing self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs) from Park Trent.

ASIC reviewed advice provided by Mrs Thorne when she was a representative of SMSF Advice Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of AMP Limited, and concluded that she had advised some of her clients to establish SMSFs without taking their circumstances into account.

ASIC found that Mrs Thorne hadn't properly considered her clients' existing superannuation arrangements or explored why they were interested in investing in direct residential property through an SMSF. When recommending SMSFs to some of her clients, she had inappropriately scoped advice by excluding insurance and retirement planning.

The regulatory body also found that Mrs Thorne did not adequately stress-test SMSF strategies and had recommended SMSFs to some of her clients despite inadequate evidence to suggest that the strategies would provide increased retirement benefits.

Furthermore, Mrs Thorne had recommended that her accountancy practice, Saber Accountants Pty Ltd, prepare the annual accounts and tax returns for the SMSF clients.

ASIC noted it expects financial advisers to comply with their best interests duty and pay particular attention to how they scope their advice to clients.

"Financial advisers have a legal obligation to provide advice that is in the best interests of their clients, not prioritise their own interests or simply implement client instructions. ASIC will continue to take action when advisers or AFS licensees don’t comply with the law," ASIC commissioner Danielle Press said.

"Consumers need to know that managing your own super is a major commitment that can be expensive and involve significant time and effort. SMSFs are not for everyone. Consumers should consider their personal circumstances carefully before deciding to establish an SMSF," she added.