The Federal Court has recently reaffirmed that the phrase “in relation to” a financial service is necessarily of wide import. In this context, it is timely to reiterate the practical consequences of this broad interpretation in the context of financial services. “in relation to” In Australian Securities and Investments Commission v Hutchison [2020] FCA 978, … 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

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

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 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

In the wake of ASIC’s recent announcement on enforcement in this area, we thought that it would be timely to set out: some key points about how the client money provisions operate, particularly with respect to application money; the pitfalls to look out for; and how some of the more technical provisions interact with each … Read more

Yesterday, ASIC provided an update on its surveillance activity on advertising and disclosure by investment funds, emphasising the importance of investment fund disclosure not being misleading and adequately addressing risk. It is important for licensees to bear in mind that the stance and views taken by ASIC can be applied equally to other products, such … Read more

In this update we cover two more important Australian developments for fund managers in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more