ASIC Bans Melbourne-Based Financial Adviser David Ruthenberg for Three Years

ASIC has banned Melbourne-based financial adviser David Noel Ruthenberg from providing financial services for three years. Mr Ruthenberg operated through his own financial planning practice, which traded as Venture Advisory Consulting, and was an authorised representative of The FinancialLink Group Pty Ltd (TFLG) at the time of the misconduct.

The three-year ban also prohibits Mr Ruthenberg from managing, supervising or auditing the provision of financial services and from providing training about financial services and products. 

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ASIC found that, between June 2015 and September 2017,Mr Ruthenberg recommended that some of his clients invest in a high-risk fund, the Investport Income Opportunity Fund (the Fund). Mr Ruthenberg had a specific interest in the Fund via personal borrowings and ASIC found that he failed to prioritise his clients' interests above his own when recommending they invest in the Fund.

Further, the high-risk nature of the investment did not match his clients’ risk profiles or experience, and Mr Ruthenberg was found to have failed to conduct a reasonable investigation into alternative financial products that could have met the clients' needs.

Mr Ruthenberg's banning is effective from 3 August 2021.