Peter Jianchao Xu, an authorised representative of Westpac Banking Corporation, Commonwealth Financial Planning, and Neo Financial Solutions, has been banned from providing financial services for five years for failing to comply with financial services laws, including the best interests’ duty and the requirement to provide appropriate advice.
An ASIC review of some of Xu’s advice files revealed that he repeatedly advised clients to take out a new insurance policy instead of exploring whether it would be beneficial if they remained with or modified their existing policies. He also failed to consider his clients’ personal circumstances when providing personal insurance advice, putting them at risk of being underinsured.
“When providing personal advice, financial advisers must take their clients’ personal circumstances into account and adequately consider any existing financial products as well as new products before making product-switching recommendations,” ASIC said.
The Perth financial adviser may appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for a review of ASIC’s decision.
