The corporate watchdog has banned a Melbourne-based financial adviser for life after his inappropriate advice led to significant losses for his clients.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission said former Morgan Stanley adviser Andrew Peter Panayiotides exposed superannuation accounts to more risk than his clients had requested.
ASIC said Mr Panayiotides also knew - or should have known - there was a conflict of interest between the brokerage fees he received for transactions in risky exchange-traded options and his clients' best interests.
The regulator found that Mr Panayiotides failed to prioritise his clients' interests and provided unethical advice.
"Mr Panayiotides' conduct ... was not of an isolated nature, was not inadvertent and occurred over a long period of time in which clients incurred significant losses, " ASIC said in a statement on Friday.
"ASIC had reason to believe that Mr Panayiotides was likely to contravene a financial services law in the future and was not of good fame or character."
Mr Panayiotides has the right to appeal the decision.
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