IFA will expel banned Timaru adviser

The Institute of Financial Advisers will move to expel suspended member Neville Cant, after he was banned from operating by the Securities Commission following his conviction for offering securities without a prospectus last week.

Monday, June 14th 2010, 11:42PM 3 Comments

by Paul McBeth

Timaru-based Cant, who was suspended late last year for failing to respond to three complaints, will be expelled by the IFA now that the court process has ended.

"We always intended to let it go through the courts, and now that it has, we'll move to take action quickly," said Lyn McMorran, president of the IFA.

Cant was banned by the regulator from operating as an adviser or investment broker for five years, and won't be allowed to work "in any way that would allow him to give investment advice, or receive investment money or investment property from a member of the public" for the same period, the regulator said in a statement. He has also been banned from being a director and manager for five years.

The adviser, who had a run-in with the Securities Commission in 2006 for promoting an unlawful investment offering to the public, was sentenced to 14 months imprisonment and ordered to pay $100,000 reparation, fined $40,000 on each breach of the Securities Act, and his companies, Investment Management and Combined Financial Services, were each fined $14,000 on each of the Securities Act charges.

Paul is a staff writer for Good Returns based in Wellington.

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Comments from our readers

On 15 June 2010 at 11:09 am alan said:

so how will the new regulations prevent unethical advisers doing this in future?

On 15 June 2010 at 4:31 pm PN said:

A moral Adviser would not do it. An ethical Adviser knows not to do it. Therefore if regulations can go someway to clear out the immoral and unethical behavior then we will all benefit.

On 17 June 2010 at 10:17 am tony vidler said:

regulations and laws will never stop people who wish to do the wrong thing deliberately. If they did we wouldn't have prisons.

The benefit of regulation is that "ethical behaviour" (as opposed to legally correct behaviour) becomes mandatory instead of voluntary.