What happened
Sanlam Private Wealth Pty Ltd, the Australian arm of South African financial services group Sanlam, has admitted to failing to properly oversee its authorised representatives and corporate authorised representatives (CARs) operating under its Australian Financial Services (AFS) licence.
Scale of the oversight failure
At its peak, Sanlam had 42 CARs and 71 authorised representatives operating under its licence. These included fintech companies offering online trading platforms and crypto-based investment products to retail clients.
What ASIC found
ASIC found that Sanlam lacked:
- Adequate review processes
- Risk management systems
- Compliance staff
- Qualified responsible managers
- Staff training programs
The court enforceable undertaking
Sanlam has given ASIC a court enforceable undertaking (CEU). Under the CEU, Sanlam is required to:
- Engage an ASIC-approved independent expert to review its compliance systems
- Provide remedial action plans to both ASIC and the independent expert
The full terms of the Sanlam CEU are listed on the ASIC court enforceable undertakings register.
ASIC's position on AFS licensee obligations
ASIC has described this outcome as a warning to all AFS licensees that it expects proper oversight of anyone operating under their licence. ASIC has flagged licensee supervision of representatives as an enforcement priority.
Relevant ASIC resources
- ASIC Regulatory Guide 100 - Court enforceable undertakings
- ASIC media release 22-239MR - August 2022 reminder on licensee obligations to supervise representatives
- ASIC Report 778 - Review of online trading providers (December 2023)
This is a plain-English summary for information only, not legal or compliance advice. Always check the official source or consult a qualified professional.