A former financial adviser who breached a Stop Order issued by New Zealand’s Financial Markets Authority (FMA) – Te Mana Tātai Hokohoko has been convicted on four charges, fined $15,000, and banned for seven years from company management and financial advice services.
David McEwen (pictured) pleaded guilty in November 2025 to four offences connected to breaches of a Stop Order issued by the regulator in December 2023. The court also dismissed his application for a discharge without conviction.
Under the ruling, McEwen is prohibited for seven years from acting as a director or promoter, or taking part in the management of a company in New Zealand. The ban also covers providing financial advice services.
The Stop Order was imposed after the regulator found that communications connected to financial products offered by McEwen and entities linked to him were false or misleading, contained material misdescription or error, or did not comply with the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013. The order prohibited making offers, issues or sales of the financial products, distributing restricted communications relating to them, or accepting further contributions, investments or deposits.
Margot Gatland, head of enforcement at the authority, said the order was intended to prevent financial harm to investors.
“We focus our enforcement actions on preventing and addressing significant harm to consumers, markets and our financial system. Mr McEwen breached our Stop Order in various ways almost immediately after it was made, after he had left New Zealand,” Gatland said.
The regulator said the conduct that breached the order was similar to the conduct that led to the order being issued.
“He continued to seek money from former clients and obtained around $17,000 after the Stop Order was issued.”
Regulatory findings set out several activities that breached the order. One involved offers and issuance of financial products linked to Cosmopolitan Holdings 2024 Pty Ltd, an entity McEwen incorporated in Singapore on November 11, 2023. The incorporation occurred after the regulator began investigating him but before the Stop Order took effect. Investors made payments totalling $173,000 following those offers.
Another breach involved financial products and restricted communications related to Agtech 3 Ltd, an entity captured by the Stop Order.
A further activity concerned the issuance of units in the International Opportunities Partnership, an investment vehicle McEwen created in July 2024 after the Stop Order had been imposed. The units were presented as replacements for financial products held by investors in other entities associated with McEwen. According to the regulator, these replacements occurred without investor consent.
In connection with those units, McEwen requested an “administration fee” from investors. The fee was described as applying to all investors based on the value of each investment and intended to assist with costs related to forming the partnership and issuing units. By August 8, 2024, 23 investors had paid $17,046.49 for the fee, according to the authority.
The conviction follows a sequence of enforcement actions linked to McEwen and entities associated with him. The authority issued the Stop Order in December 2023 against McEwen and companies connected to him after finding that restricted communications relating to financial product offers were false or misleading, contained material misdescription, or included unsubstantiated claims about the value of the products.
Entities associated with McEwen included Stockfox Limited and a number of other companies involved in financial product offers. In May 2024, the regulator cancelled Stockfox Limited’s Financial Advice Provider licence, stating that the company no longer met licensing requirements and that McEwen, its sole director and financial adviser, was not considered a fit and proper person under the Financial Markets Conduct Act.
The regulator later filed criminal charges in the Auckland District Court in March 2025, alleging that McEwen continued making offers of financial products and accepting contributions despite the Stop Order. The authority said it understood McEwen had lived overseas since November 2023.
Prior to the conviction, the authority had also issued warnings to clients and subscribers to the “McEwen Investment Report” publication to review their credit and debit card statements after receiving complaints that payments may have been processed without authorisation.
FMA officials also advised investors contacted by McEwen or entities associated with him in relation to financial products to report the contact to the regulator.
