The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) has imposed an administrative penalty of R1 million on Mr. Mareo Nel (Nel). The FSCA also debarred Nel for a period of 15 years.
The regulatory action against Nel followed an investigation by the FSCA into complaints it received from Nel’s clients.
The finding of the FSCA investigation was that Nel breached section 7(1) (a) of the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act No. 37 of 2002 (FAIS Act). Nel rendered financial services by offering to trade in forex derivates on behalf of clients. These financial services required Nel to be authorised as a financial services provider, which he was not.
Nel is accordingly prohibited from:
- providing, or being involved in the provision of, financial services;
- acting as a key person of a financial institution; and
- providing specified financial services to a financial institution, whether under outsourcing arrangements or otherwise.
Members of the public should always check:
- that an entity or individual is authorised by the FSCA to provide financial products and services, including for giving recommendations about how to invest.
- what category of advice the person is registered to provide, as there are instances where companies or people are registered to provide basic advice for a low-risk product and then offer advice on far more complex and risky products.
- that the FSP number utilised by the entity or individual offering financial services matches to name of the FSP on the FSCA database.

Mantis Queen
Avi Lasarow: CEO – DNAFit: Hailing from Johannesburg, Avi Lasarow is described as a ‘lifestyle genetics pioneer’ know for his work associated with DNA testing. He is currently CEO of a lifestyle genetic testing company DNAFit. Founded in 2013, DNAFit is the first company to use DNA testing for both combined fitness and nutrition on such scale, using a simple mouth swab to test over 50 different genes related to sport performance and nutrition. Both Lasarow and the company have received numerous awards in the UK, with Lasarow being the first South Africa inducted into the City of London Entrepreneurs Guild.