ASIC has permanently banned Mr Anthony Doring of Melbourne, Victoria, from providing financial services. Between 2009 and October 2015, Mr Doring was a manager of Phil Doring Insurance Brokers (PDIB), which provided insurance services and which had offices in Mackay and Melbourne.

Following a hearing, ASIC found that Mr Doring had:

• failed to ensure that PDIB operated pursuant to an Australian financial services (AFS) licence when providing financial services;

• deliberately engaged in dishonest conduct by misappropriating money from the PDIB trust account, and using this to enable PDIB to continue trading;

• cancelled client insurance policies without authorisation; and

• failed to comply with the requirement that a person who is licenced with an AFS license lodge an annual auditor's report and financial statements with ASIC. 

In addition, Mr Doring was made bankrupt on 19 July 2016.

ASIC Deputy Chairman Peter Kell said, 'The investing public needs to be able to trust those who provide financial services.'

'ASIC will act to remove those who behave without regard to their obligations to their clients from the financial services industry.'

Mr Doring's banning will be recorded on ASIC's register of financial advisers.

Mr Doring has a right of appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

Background

Mr Doring failed to obtain an AFS licence for the PDIB business following the death of his father, Phillip Doring, in April 2013. Phillip Doring had held an AFS licence in his personal capacity.

In October 2015, Steadfast Group Limited, a dealer group of which PDIB was a member, reported its concerns to ASIC regarding the conduct of Mr Doring and the existence of an apparent shortfall in the PDIB trust account of between $700,000 and $1.1 million.

PDIB was placed into liquidation on 18 April 2016 with Peter Gountzos of SV Partners appointed as liquidator.