$1.8 million disappeared, and so are images of ASIC-banned 'Wolf' Ashley Howard

When somebody absconds with $1.8 million worth of company funds, you expect the loot to end up in a Swiss bank account, but that was not the case with Wolf of Wall Street protege, Ashley Howard.

He was Jordan Belfort's associate until the alleged Wolf of Wall Street bankrupted Howard over a debt.

Following his permanent ban from providing financial services by ASIC on Monday, CBD wanted to finally get a look at our man who has caused so much trouble in recent years.

Luckily, ASIC informed us that Howard invested some of the money in plastic surgery for his partner. Her name is Dolores Howard and she is an aspiring actor/model, according to her web profile.

"I'm a regular to doing a lot of extra work for television and commercial and building my profile for more acting jobs. I have passion for what I do, an a true love for the art of acting. I incorporate a lot of Stanislavski in my acting and also method acting," she says.

It includes a rare photo of her husband, who is apparently removing images of himself from the web.

CBD hears that ASIC is concerned Howard is attempting to continue his entrepreneurial activities without having to explain the character reference from the corporate watchdog which found that he was "not of good fame and character".

"Mr Howard's conduct was particularly bad in that, on occasions, he preyed on elderly and vulnerable people," said ASIC's John Price.

Don't worry, the vulnerable does not include Belfort. According to ASIC's statement, Belfort was one of the recipients of Howard's loot.

Off-piste

The Yellow Brick Road has ended for one of Mark Bouris' senior executives at the wealth group. Vow Financial boss Tim Brown will be "stepping down from his position" as of December 31 and will not be replaced.

"In line with the previously announced restructure of corporate operations this year, senior managers and I have been adopting additional responsibilities, with a major focus on achieving efficiencies and network productivity," said Bouris in a prepared statement.

This is a reference to his announcement in August that a number of senior roles across the company in lending, wealth, and marketing "that are no longer required" would save the company about $1.5 million a year.

That would help Bouris achieve his promise of getting YBR to make a profit next year, or "fire" himself from the business.

CBD is informed he was only joking, but there are quite a few people who are willing to hold him to the promise.

As for Brown, at least he will leave with the happy memories of Vow's annual conference at Canada's Whistler ski resort in September.

Interestingly, one of the executives who will be shouldering the load once Brown departs is Andrew Rasby who only joined the company this week.

Wealth cuts

The good news about the flagged sell-off of ANZ's wealth business is that it ensures the legacy of the current boss, Shayne Elliott, will extend beyond dismantling the legacy of his immediate predecessor, Mike Smith.

He will, in fact, be part of the migration of major banks away from the troublesome insurance business.

And thanks to Elliott's recent hire of Michelle Jablko as chief financial officer, he will have a direct-report with the investment banking skills to drive any sales process. Let's just hope her skills on the selling side are better than her skills on the buying side.

Jablko was, of course, one of the bright sparks that advised Slater and Gordon on the disastrous acquisition of the UK business Quindell.

And we all remember what happened to Angus Aitken when he emailed his thoughts on the ANZ hiring of Jablko to a select list of Bell Potter clients.

Aitken subsequently lost his job. And whether Elliott and other ANZ executives are at fault over their complaints about the email in question is the subject of legal action that will hit the courts next year unless all the parties are able to reach a settlement before then.

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