The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has banned Sharree Grace Hutchinson, Perth-based director of Funds United Pty Ltd, from providing financial services for six years. The regulator alleges that Ms Hutchinson demonstrated a lack of professionalism and judgement required of a participant in the financial services industry.

ASIC found that between December 2020 and January 2021, Ms Hutchinson contacted investors in the First Guardian Master Fund and suggested they roll their investments from the Chiodo Diversified Property Development Class to the Australian Opportunities Class (AOC).

During the course of this misconduct, Ms Hutchinson misused personal information about investors by contacting them when she was not in a role that allowed her to do so. She also used logos of entities without their permission which was likely to create a misleading impression that she had their authority to contact investors.

Further, she made misleading statements to investors about fund performance and land valuations. She also created a document containing information relating to the AOC and distributed it to investors, giving them the impression that it had been approved by the fund’s management.

Following the above conduct, Ms Hutchinson went on to become an authorised representative of an Australian Financial Service licensee, United Global Capital Pty Ltd. Between October 2021 and April 2022, she contacted two investors about potential returns by rolling over their investments, without providing meaningful comparisons of the investments. Ms Hutchinson also made representations about the need to act quickly and offered to waive her fees if the investors rolled over their investments.

As a result of the ban, Ms Hutchinson is prohibited from controlling an entity that carries on a financial services business, and performing any function involved in the carrying on of a financial services business (including as an officer, manager, employee, contractor or in some other capacity).

Ms Hutchinson has the right to appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for a review of ASIC’s decision.