Licences and responsible managers for sale

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A thriving secondary market for AFS licences, credit licences and Responsible Managers exists in Australia. Foreign exchange businesses can command ludicrously high sums for AFS licences for these rare and hard-to-get authorisations. Seven figure sums are not unheard of for a bare company with no clients and no other assets! Confronted with the fact that obtaining a

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01 Sep 2017

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Unpaid life insurance remains valid

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Watch out insurers: life insurance policies can remain on foot even if the premium is unpaid. How is this even possible? Most people assume that if they don’t pay the premium, their insurance policy will lapse. In a curious twist caused by a change to the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth), this is not the case

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28 Jul 2016

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Licence now – or in 2019

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With less than a month until ASIC’s soft licensing deadline, only 276 limited licence applications have been submitted and only 31% of these have been granted. Some accountants are waiting until the last minute to lodge their licence application, but there are risks to this approach. If you don’t lodge your licence application by 30

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26 Apr 2016

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Licence now – or in 2019

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With less than a month until ASIC’s soft licensing deadline, only 276 limited licence applications have been submitted and only 31% of these have been granted. Some accountants are waiting until the last minute to lodge their licence application, but there are risks to this approach. If you don’t lodge your licence application by 30

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18 Feb 2016

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No limited licence extension

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ASIC has already signalled that it has no intention of providing a further grace period to accountants who don’t act now to become authorised, and only five months remain until the 1 March 2016 ‘soft deadline’ for licensing. Accountants who apply for a limited licence, but have not yet had it granted by 1 July

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03 Nov 2015

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Accountants can’t do ‘nothing’

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Accountants who believe they can cease to advise on SMSFs following removal of the accountants’ exemption need to think again. While exiting the SMSF advice space is a valid alternative to becoming an AFS licensee or authorised representative, accountants will still need to comply with the AFS requirements. The key issue facing accountants is understanding

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15 Jul 2015

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The Fold Legal expands

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The Fold Legal (The Fold) is expanding at a rapid rate. The firm has announced a partnership with Perpetual, a new hire to drive innovation and growth, new opportunities opening up in both the Sydney and Brisbane offices, and senior lawyers taking up or increasing shareholdings in the business. Following a competitive process, The Fold

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09 Apr 2015

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Competitions cause conflicts of interest for brokers

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Competitions where insurers or underwriters reward broking staff with a ‘prize’ for meeting certain volume goals for quotes for business placed are rife with conflicts, whether the broker wins a prize or not. The Fold Legal senior lawyer, Jaime Lumsden Kelly says entering a competition can easily lead to a breach of the broker’s Australian

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13 Nov 2014

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Accountants: Take care preparing AFS Applications

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Preparing to apply for a limited licence from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) should be taking accountants as long if not longer than the licence application process itself, according to The Fold Legal (The Fold). “Material deficiencies in both the documentation and the information provided by applicants were the main reasons given by

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11 Nov 2014

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Accountants and licensing: which way to go?

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With the transition period for accountants’ licensing ending on 1 July 2016, now is the time for accountants to decide whether or not they need an Australian Financial Services (AFS) licence. Senior Lawyer at The Fold Legal, Jaime Lumsden Kelly, who is leading The Fold’s accountant’s licensing services, said accountants who advise clients about self

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28 Oct 2014

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