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ASIC fines firm for ‘misleading’ SMSF advertising
A firm has paid $30,600 in penalties after ASIC issued three infringement notices for false or misleading online advertising.
In a statement released this afternoon, ASIC said the advertisements related to Esuperfund's business of providing SMSF establishment and administration services online to clients.
Each advertisement ran between 31 January 2014 and 8 May 2014, ASIC stated.
ASIC said it was concerned one advertisement inaccurately represented that clients who engaged Esuperfund to establish an SMSF in 2014 would not incur any fees or costs in establishing or operating the SMSF.
ASIC was also concerned an article titled ‘9 Benefits of Setting Up A Self Managed Super Fund’ misrepresented the costs and benefits of SMSFs compared to retail and industry superannuation funds, and that a third advertisement falsely represented that ASIC reviewed Esuperfund’s operations annually to ensure that it complied with its licensing obligations.
Esuperfund removed the statements from its website following these concerns from the corporate regulator.
“Setting up an SMSF is an extremely important financial decision and advertisements must accurately reflect the service being offered,” said ASIC deputy chairman Peter Kell.
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