ASIC Places 4yr Ban on Former Managing Director of Theta Asset Management Ltd

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) announced this Friday that it has banned Mr Robert Patrick Marie, a former managing director and responsible manager of Theta Asset Management Ltd (In Liquidation) (Theta), from providing financial services for six years.

In addition, Mr Marie was also banned from controlling an entity that carries on a financial services business as well as from performing any function involved in the carrying on of a financial services business in any capacity.

According to the official press release, Theta is the Responsible Entity of the Sterling Income Trust (SIT), a registered managed investment scheme, was placed into external administration in 2019.

Mr Marie has been banned due to contraventions of the Corporations Act stemming from the issue, by Theta, of five defective Product Disclosure Statements (PDSs) for the SIT, under which $16,710,669 in total was raised from retail investors between 20 May 2016 and 1 May 2018. 

Let's recall that, Theta was ordered to pay a penalty of $2 million​ last year, after the company was failed to comply with the duties imposed on a Responsible Entity by issuing the defective PDSs. Mr Marie was found to have failed to comply with his duties as a managing director, by failing to ensure Theta complied with the Corporations Act.