Morris Kaplan is a former investment broker, banned for life from giving investment advice by ASIC.

Since early this year, he has been writing for the Wealth section of The Australian. It seems Kaplan’s ASIC record and consequent dimished credibility might come as a surprise not only to readers but also to the editors of the paper.

Andrew Main, Business Editor of The Australian, had some inkling of Kaplan’s run-in with ASIC but was under the impression he was given a five-year penalty rather than the more serious lifetime ban.

Main told Crikey today: “My understanding was that it was a five-year ban … If it’s a lifetime ban, it’s a lifetime ban, it’s something. If somebody’s been put off the record for life that’s a significant matter.” He later added, “Kaplan is not employed to give investment advice. He writes a column which looks at the attitudes of investors and broader dynamics of the market.”

ASIC permanently banned Kaplan in November 1994, after an investigation of his dealings on behalf of a stockbroker. The Age reported the findings in an article that month — that Kaplan had engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct, and that he had not performed his duties as a dealer’s representative efficiently, honestly and fairly.

The above image is from the Registers of Banned & Disqualified Persons
 Kaplan wrote about do-it-yourself investments earlier this month, and on money management in May. This morning Kaplan wrote in The Australian that “In seeking advice the same old issue still applies: you have to find someone you can trust.”

It’s not just The Australian that seems to have been unaware of Kaplan’s record. An article in The Sydney Morning Herald in 2005, 11 years after he was banned from practising, began, “You pay Morris Kaplan for investment advice. But where does he put his own money?”

Crikey tried to contact Kaplan but had not received a response by deadline.