Regulatory Alerts2026-02-13
ASIC cancels AFS licence of Pulse Markets for serious and sustained breaches of duties
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has cancelled the Australian financial services licence of Pulse Markets Pty Ltd effective 11 February 2026 due to serious and sustained breaches of duties under the Corporations Act 2001. The regulator found that the securities dealer failed to maintain competence, adequately supervise corporate authorised representatives, prepare required financial statements, and pay industry levies, thereby exposing clients to financial loss. Pulse Markets retains the right to apply to the Administrative Review Tribunal for a review of this decision.
ASIC has cancelled the Australian financial services (AFS) licence of securities dealer Pulse Markets Pty Ltd (Pulse Markets), effective from 11 February 2026.
The licence was cancelled after ASIC found Pulse Markets had serious and sustained breaches of its duties under s912A of the Corporations Act 2001 . These included Pulse’s failure to adequately supervise its corporate authorised representatives (CARs) providing financial services under its AFS licence, increasing the risk they will not comply with financial services laws and put clients at risk of financial loss.
ASIC found that Pulse Markets failed to comply with its obligations, including failure to:
maintain the competence required to provide the financial services it offered
take reasonable steps to ensure that its representatives comply with the financial services laws by failing to:
undertake appropriate due diligence prior to the appointment of its CARs
take adequate steps to monitor the websites and marketing of its CARs
maintain adequate compliance, breach and incident registers, and
maintain compliance manuals with accurate information about AFS licence authorisations
ensure adequate resources, including staffing, to provide the financial services covered by the licence and to carry out supervisory arrangements
prepare and lodge financial statements (being a balance sheet and a profit and loss statement) for financial years 2024 and 2025
obtain an opinion by a registered company auditor regarding Pulse Market’s compliance with the financial conditions on their licence for financial years 2024 and 2025
pay its Industry Funding Levy for the 2023-2024 financial year.
Pulse Markets may apply to the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) for a review of ASIC’s decision.
Background
Pulse Markets is a Queensland-based securities dealer and has held AFS licence number 220383 since 7 June 2002. The licence authorised Pulse Markets to provide financial product advice, deal in financial products and underwrite an issue of securities, for wholesale clients.