Author Archives: ETE

During the pandemic, everybody became a home baker. You were either team banana bread or team sourdough. I went for the former. Now bread-making is trickier than it looks. You balance ingredients, keep a watchful eye on the dough as it rises, adjust for temperature and deal with surprises. Too much yeast, the bread over-inflates […]

The Federal Court has found that a ‘pre-existing condition’ term in certain HCF Life Insurance Company Pty Ltd (HCF Life) policies was liable to mislead the public. The term was used in three contracts issued under HCF Life’s ‘Recover’ range of products. ASIC alleged that the term could mislead the public because: it purported to […]

PSG SIPP Limited (PSG SIPP) went into administration on 25 October 2024. Christopher Allen and Adam Stephens of Evelyn Partners have been appointed as joint administrators. PSG SIPP is a self-invested personal pension (SIPP) operator authorised and regulated by the FCA. All SIPP schemes administered by PSG SIPP, except Unity SIPP, have been transferred to […]

The FCA has fined Mr Käärmann, the CEO of Wise plc and senior manager of Wise Assets UK Ltd, £350,000 for breaching a senior manager conduct rule. In February 2021, Mr Käärmann paid a significant fine to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) of £365,651. He was fined for deliberately failing to notify HMRC of a […]

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s financial markets regulator and supervisor, has today launched a consultation on amendments to the research provisions in the Markets in Financial Instruments II (MiFID II) Delegated Directive following changes introduced by the Listing Act. The Listing Act introduces changes that enable joint payments for execution services […]

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s financial markets regulator and supervisor, has today published a Consultation Paper (CP) on draft technical advice under the Prospectus Regulation and a Call for Evidence (CfE) on Prospectus Liability. The Consultation contains recommendations meant to facilitate European capital market activity by streamlining and reducing regulatory burden. […]

On 22 October 2024, the Federal Court made orders appointing Helen Newman and Andrew Fielding of BDO as receivers and managers of the property of David McWilliams and his wife Laura Fullarton. The receivers are tasked with conducting investigations into the amount of investor funds received by Mr McWilliams and Ms Fullarton and to provide […]

We note the Court of Appeal judgment on motor finance commission and are carefully considering its decision. In January, we introduced a pause to the time firms have to provide a final response to customers about motor finance complaints involving a discretionary commission arrangement (DCA). We did this to prevent disorderly, inconsistent and inefficient outcomes […]

On 23 October 2024, MCI Global Investments Advisors Limited entered into Creditors Voluntary Liquidation. Gareth Howarth of Path Business Recovery Limited was appointed as liquidator. MCI Global Investment Advisors Limited (the firm) is a small Authorised Alternative Investment Fund Manager that provided alternative investment fund management services for funds. This includes Novus Black Fund UK […]

The FCA has published the results of a survey to better understand how firms record and manage allegations of non-financial misconduct. The survey of over 1,000 investment banks, brokers and wholesale insurance firms found that the number of allegations reported increased between 2021 and 2023. When the survey launched, the FCA was clear that it […]