The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has announced that Total Financial Solutions Australia Ltd has completed a compliance review at its instigation and finished compensating HNW investors who received inappropriate advice.

Additional licence conditions were imposed by consent on Total Financial Solutions on 25 September 2015, requiring a compliance review and remediation programme, overseen by a compliance expert, as a result of instances of inappropriate advice by one of the firm's representatives. That advisor, Brian Dobinson from Queensland, was permanently removed from the financial services industry after ASIC decided that he had failed to act in his clients' best interests by, among other things, using a "one size fits all" model to advise them, regardless of their personal circumstances

The remediation programme resulted in A$2,549,291 (US$1,980,526) being paid in compensation to clients.

The compliance expert also reviewed aspects of Total Financial Solutions' compliance arrangements, specifically in relation to the monitoring and supervision of representatives. The compliance expert made a number of recommendations which the firm has put into practice.