The Australian Securities and Exchange Commission (ASIC) has canceled the license of the Australian Financial Services (AFS) of the Group Financial Services Australia Pty Ltd (FSGA), from 7 June 2025 and the permanent ban by FSGA manager (RM) Graham Holmes.
ASIC canceled FSGA’s AFS license after ASIC found that FSGA did not have:
- Take reasonable measures to ensure that two of its representatives provided tips on financial products that were suitable for customer circumstances or customer’s interests, compared to some cases of advice
- You have adequate financial and human resources to provide financial services covered by license and to make supervisory arrangements
- Keep the ability to provide financial services covered by license
- Time with the financial statements and reports of the controller in a timely manner
- Lodge Breach reports with Asic, and
- They comply with a condition for the license required by the FSGA to have total assets that exceeded total liabilities for the financial years 2022 and 2023.
Although the FSGA license is canceled, Asic has clarified that FSGA should remain a member of the AFCA and maintain professional compensation insurance by June 4, 2026.
If you are a client of FSGA and have concerns about the behavior of your consultant or the tips you received, you should consider submission of complaint to the Australian complaints (AFCA). AFCA is the external resolution system of disputes for financial complaints in Australia and must deal with complaints independently and fairly. AFCA service is free for consumers.
AFCA can contact:
- Call 1800 931 678 FREE (9am – 5pm Melbourne Time), or
- Record an online complaint on the AFCA website.
AFCA will consider your complaint if it meets eligibility criteria.
Significant deadline: Cancellation of the FSGA license, ASIC required FSGA to remain a member of the AFCA by June 4, 2026.If you plan to file a complaint with AFCA in relation to the tips obtained by FSGA, you should do so by June 4, 2026.
ASIC also permanently banned FSGA’s RM Graham Holmes from providing any financial services, performing any operation involved in the transfer of a financial services and control of an entity carried out by a financial services business.
The Regulatory Authority found that Mr Holmes had been involved in the infringement of the FSGA Financial Services Act, including FSGA’s failure to take reasonable measures to ensure that its representatives acted in the interest of customers and to give client advice.
ASIC also found that Mr Holmes had accepted that it was only the FSGA RM and received RM pay when he knew he did not perform his duties as RM. Therefore, ASIC had a reason to believe that Mr Holmes is not a suitable and appropriate person to participate in the financial services sector.
The role of the responsible manager comes from the obligation at 912A (1) (e) of the 2001 companies’ law for beneficiaries of the beneficiaries of AFS to create and maintain the organizational capacity to provide financial services offered by the AFS holder.
Individuals designated by beneficiaries of beneficiaries AFS as responsible managers must have immediate responsibility for important daily decisions on the financial services provided by the licensee.