AUSTRALIA: ASIC Overhauls Fund Management Guidance

Thursday October 26 2017

The Australian Securities & Investment Commission (ASIC) has released a suite of new and updated guidance for the funds management industry for consultation.

The six new and updated regulatory guides have been developed in advance of the upcoming new Asia Region Funds Passport and corporate collective investment vehicle (CCIV) legislation, taking into account these new areas as well as bringing ASIC’s funds management policy up to date across the board.

ASIC proposes to consolidate its core guidance for the funds management industry into 6 regulatory guides covering topics:

• establishing and registering a fund
• constitutions
• compliance and oversight
• asset holding
• how ASIC may exercise  exemption or modification powers and common forms of relief that may be granted
• entry and ongoing requirements for foreign passport funds.

The guidance will reflect ASIC’s current views on these topics, and apply to managed investment schemes, CCIVs, Australian passport funds and certain other AFS licensees involved in funds management.

ASIC will develop an information sheet on funds management governance considerations and make a range of less substantive amendments to other regulatory guides. These amendments will reflect the consequential amendments that will be made to the Corporations Act to accommodate the new regimes.

The CCIV regime will be implemented in Australia through the Treasury Laws Amendment (Collective Investment Vehicle) Bill 2017 and a further Bill enacting consequential amendments to other legislation, including the Corporations Act.

The CCIV regime will be an optional alternative to the existing managed investments regime in Chapter 5C of the Corporations Act.

Please click on the above link for more information.