Professional Investment Services, also known as PIS, has been slapped $5.9 million fine as compensation for the clients they had advised and placed into Westpoint Group companies.

PIS has not acknowledge any legal responsibility and has settled the class action that was initiated by Australian Securities and Investments Commission, which has been approved by the Federal Court, and the compensation can now be made.

The class action, initiated by ASIC, stated that Professional Investment Services were negligent in providing their financial advises to various investors and had breached the Australian Financial Services license it had acquired.

The fine which amounts to $5.9 million, and has to be paid by PIS by November 30, is to be equally distributed in such a way that all eligible investors would receive 62.5 per cent of their initial investment. It is a remarkable fact that $19 million belonged to PIS investors at the time of the collapse. PIS was just one of the seven Australian financial advisors and planners against who legal action has been taken by ASIC in the stir of the Westpoint collapse.