Written by Michael Vrisakis General issue The issue has been raised as to if and how advisers can satisfy the best interests duty (BID) when selling annuity products, particularly in a low interest rate environment and in the context of intra-fund advice. As noted below, the general issue here is the extent to which selling single … Read more
THE ISSUE The issue of differential pricing of financial products on investment platforms has arisen as a news item over the past several weeks. This edition of FSR Australia Notes sheds some light on this topic, and the legal furphies and controversies surrounding it. THE STARTING POINT The starting point is to articulate the concept … Read more
As a body for securities regulators globally, the International Organization of Securities Commissions is an important standard setter for compliance, including in respect to the work of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). Given policy development in respect to outsourcing in Australia in recent times, IOSCO’s recent consultation in this area is a valuable … Read more
This edition of Regulatory Rinkles follows on from our previous edition on Spotlight on Conflicted Remuneration and focuses on the transitional issues facing product issuers and advice licensees who are looking to end or deal with their existing grandfathered arrangements before the grandfathering exemption is removed from 1 January 2021. LEGISLATIVE BACKGROUND – THE END … Read more
There are several tectonic forces at play which are all converging to impact on sales and distribution of financial products. The key forces are: general law developments affecting general advice and personal advice; the new anti-hawking changes; the evolution of the efficiently, honestly and fairly obligation (click here to read our detailed discussion in previous … Read more
This edition of our FSR Australia Notes focuses on the concept and dimensions of regulatory risk. We see this as an increasingly important area of financial services regulation, as following the Financial Services Royal Commission, a financial institution’s relationship with the regulators is particularly paramount. There are many factors underpinning this observation, including the more … Read more
This article was originally published on Banking Litigation Notes. The latest development in the Bank of England’s (BoE) attempts to support the adoption of SONIA in cash products – and to speed up the transition away from LIBOR-linked products – is the publication of its response to the consultation it conducted into the publication of … Read more
This edition of Regulatory Rinkles focuses on certain aspects of the conflicted remuneration regime under Part 7.7A of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (Act), which are often ill understood. This focus is timely following the Royal Commission and the proposed end of the grandfathering regime. While the grandfathering of conflicted remuneration is coming to an … Read more
