ASIC slaps adviser with 10-year ban, strips AFSL

ASIC has banned Brett Newbound of Victoria, a financial adviser and the sole director of Freedom Wealth Services, which has subsequently lost its Australian financial services licence (AFSL).

According to ASIC, Newbound was found to have forged client signatures on service agreements and provided inaccurate file notes to "justify charging ongoing service fees" on at least three occasions.

As a result, ASIC determined Newbound is not a fit and proper person to participate in financial services and applied the ban on 1 May 2025. ASIC has also cancelled the AFSL and Australian credit licence (ACL) of Freedom Wealth Services, effective from the same day.

The ban will be lifted on 30 April 2035.

Newbound had lodged an application for a stay and confidentially orders, which was opposed and dismissed by the tribunal on June 16.

Newbound and Freedom Wealth Services have also appealed to the Administrative Review Tribunal for a review of ASIC's decision, with a hearing date for a review on the decision not yet set.

Newbound was an authorised representative of Freedom Wealth Services until 17 June 2026, and a credit representative and the key person on its AFSL and ACL until 1 May 2025.

In the past, he was also an authorised representative of AMP Financial Planning between 16 August 2011 and 22 February 2021, a period when he was the sole director and financial planner of Logic Financial Services that was a corporate authorised representative of AMP Financial Planning.