AUSTRALIA: ASIC to further improve hedge fund disclosure

Thursday May 23 2013

ASIC will consider submissions from industry to refine the definition of ‘hedge fund’ due to concerns the current definition affected a number of funds that do not exhibit the same risks to investors as ‘true’ hedge funds.

In June 2012 ASIC released Class Order [CO 12/749] Relief from the Shorter PDS regime which excludes hedge funds from the shorter product disclosure statement (PDS) regime. [CO 12/749] was at the Minister’s request and is a temporary exclusion (until 22 June 2014) to allow the Government to develop a permanent solution. However, under the class order if an issuer had issued a shorter PDS for a hedge fund on or before 22 June 2012, it can continue to use the shorter PDS.

Following industry feedback, ASIC had decided to extend until 1 February 2014 the transitional relief to hedge fund issuers under [CO 12/749] that had previously issued a shorter PDS on or before 22 June 2012.

ASIC will also extend the start of RG 240 until 1 February 2014 to allow consideration of submissions and continue engagement with a number of issuers. A PDS issued after 22 June 2012 for a fund which satisfies the definition of hedge fund must issue a longer form PDS.

Click on the above link for more details.