Explain the following to Bettina and Gordon: (a)       What authorisations is Winsome likely to need in its AFS licence and why? (5 marks) (b)             (i)         What training and competencies will Winsome need to demonstrate collectively in order to obtain an AFS licence? (5 marks)              (ii)       Is Winsome likely to have the expertise and experience required to obtain an AFS licence? If you do not have sufficient information to advise them, what additional information do you need to make a decision? (4 marks)

Question 1     Regulatory requirements (30 marks | Word limit: 1500 words)

LO5: Explore the main sources of law and the regulatory structure of financial services law in Australia.

LO6: Explain the various obligations imposed on participants by financial services legislation.

Bettina and Gordon are both senior traders at a major stockbroking firm, Avalanche Stockbroking. Bettina has worked in Australian equities for 10 years and Gordon has 15 years’ experience in international equities. Bettina has a commerce degree, whereas Gordon demonstrated an aptitude for finance at a young age, and was first employed by Avalanche in a junior position after high school. Bettina and Gordon have maintained their skills (in their specific areas) through internal and external seminars and training throughout their careers.

Bettina and Gordon decide to leave Avalanche in July 2018 and set up their own boutique asset management business, Winsome Financial (Winsome), providing full service broking of Australian and international equities.

The business will initially target superannuation funds and ‘sophisticated’ high net worth individuals as its clients. It will manage the funds of these clients in both discrete mandates and a pooled fund for each type of equity (Australian and international). They engage you as a consultant to their business while they transition from Avalanche.

Note to students: Provide appropriate legislative references in your answer and assume no waivers have been granted in respect of the training and competency requirements. Ensure that each part of your answer is clearly labelled and do not merge parts of your answer.

Explain the following to Bettina and Gordon:

(a)       What authorisations is Winsome likely to need in its AFS licence and why? (5 marks)

(b)             (i)         What training and competencies will Winsome need to demonstrate collectively in order to obtain an AFS licence? (5 marks)

(ii)       Is Winsome likely to have the expertise and experience required to obtain an AFS licence? If you do not have sufficient information to advise them, what additional information do you need to make a decision? (4 marks)

(c)       Assuming Winsome decided to expand their market to include retail clients before 31 December 2018, what will Winsome be required to do? (5 marks)

(d)          What obligations does the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (Cth) (AML/CTF Act) impose on Winsome — given the scope of its business activities? (6 marks)

(e)          What enforcement actions could the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) take if it determines that Winsome failed to comply with its obligations under the AML/CTF Act? As part of your explanation, provide two (2) recent major examples of where AUSTRAC has taken enforcement action for non-compliance with the AML/CTF Act. (5 marks)

Criteria-based Marking Guide for Question 1: Regulatory requirements

Note: To obtain full marks, answers to all parts of this question should demonstrate ample evidence of wider research (beyond the notes) that has been well integrated into the answer.