ASIC has permanently banned Andrew Jung-Woo Kim, of Sydney, NSW, from providing financial services after finding he engaged in dishonest conduct in relation to a financial product or service.

Mr Kim worked for fund manager Eight Investment Partners Pty Ltd (Eight IP) on various dates between August 2018 and August 2021. Eight IP was the sub-manager of a fund portfolio held in linked securities trading accounts (managed accounts) to which Mr Kim was given access.

ASIC found Mr Kim engaged in dishonest conduct when, between 29 August and 20 December 2019, and 23 February and 21 May 2021, he caused the securities held in the managed accounts to trade with his various personal share trading accounts and other accounts he controlled in such a way to make profits on those accounts at the expense of the managed accounts.

ASIC found that Mr Kim used the managed accounts to sell securities to his private accounts, then later used the managed accounts to buy those securities back from the private accounts at higher prices.

Mr Kim admitted to conducting the above trading and also admitted that he engaged in trading on the managed accounts that he was not authorised to do, in order to make a profit on his private accounts. Mr Kim did not dispute ASIC’s concerns that he engaged in dishonest conduct.

ASIC also found that Mr Kim was not fit and proper to provide one or more financial services because of his dishonest conduct and his destruction of evidence relating to his trading, and that Mr Kim was likely to contravene a financial services law in the future.

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