Financial Advisers Duty of Care

Having lost money through the investments made by your financial adviser does not necessarily represent bad or negligent advice.

However, the financial adviser does owe you a duty of care and he may have breached that duty of care if he failed to exercise reasonable care and skill in giving you advice.

A financial adviser must place your interests ahead of his own and not abuse the reliance you have placed on his advice, ie he must recommend investments that are in your best interests, not investments that maximise the commissions he receives.

Under the ASIC Act and the Corporations Act, Financial advisers must:

• not engage in unconscionable conduct or misleading and deceptive conduct;
• not make false or misleading statements;
• provide their services with “due care and skill” (a term to this effect is implied into all contracts between financial advisers and their clients;
• provide their services efficiently, fairly and honestly;
• have a reasonable basis for the advice that they give you;
• provide you with a variety of documents such as financial services guides and statements of advice.