Unit 2 - Legislation and Regulators (Part 1) Flashcards
What are two important legislation pieces related to ASIC’s work?
- Corporations Act 2001
- FSR Act 2001
What does ASIC aim to do?
- Protect markets and consumers from manipulation, deception, and unfair practices (to promote confident participation in the financial system by investors and consumers)
- Promote honest and fairness in company operations and securities and futures markets through adequate and timely disclosure of market information.
How does ASIC achieve its aims?
- Developing policy/guidance about the law it administers.
- Granting licences and monitoring compliance.
- Supplying comprehensive information on companies and corporate activities.
How did the Financial Services Reform Act 2001 (FSRA) affect the Corporations Act 2001?
Introduced single licensing regime, and consistent/comparable disclosure regime, for all financial products.
Explain ASIC in a sentence:
ASIC is Australia’s corporate and financial services regulator and is responsible for promoting investor and financial consumer trust and confidence as well as ensuring fair, orderly, and transparent markets.
What is the Corporations Act?
It is an Act of the Commonwealth of Australia that sets out the laws dealing with business entities in Australia at both federal and interstate levels
Why was the Financial Services Reform Act 2001 introduced into the Corporations Act 2001?
- Overcome anomalies and regulatory duplication
- Introduce legal responsibility and licence requirements for the sales, advice, and dealing processes.
Under the Financial Services Reform Act 2001, who would need to assume responsibility for the competence and conduct of its a licensee’s employees and agents?
The licensee themselves
What is the DDO?
The Treasury Amendment (Design and Distribution Obligations and Product Intervention Powers) Act 2019
What is a key issuer obligation under the DDO?
The development of a Target Market Determination (TMD) that puts customers at the centre of how issuers design and distribute products
When did DDO obligations commence?
October 2019
What products are covered by the DDO?
- Products and securities that require a PDS.
- Securities for which disclosure documents must be prepared.
- Other products prescribed in the Corporations Regulations 2001 as requiring a TMD
What products are excluded from the DDO?
- MySyper products
- Margin lending facilities
- Fully paid ordinary shares (generally)
- Securities issued under an employee share scheme
Who does design and distribution obligations (DDO) apply to?
‘Issuers’ and ‘distributors’ of financial products that are available in Australia
What are some requirements of the DDO (that apply to issuers/distributors)?
- Products must have TMD.
- Products should match likely objectives, situation, and need of customers (target market).
- Must take reasonable steps to make it likely the products are being acquired by customers who meet the target market as defined by the issuer.
- Issuers must monitor outcomes and review products to ensure they are generally consistent with needs, objectives.
- Need effective product governance arrangements, aimed at improving outcomes for customers of these products.
Under Design and Distribution Obligations (DDO), how do we define a distributor?
Generally include regulated persons, such as Australian financial services licensees, authorised representatives, credit licensees and credit representatives.
Under Design and Distribution Obligations (DDO), how do we define ‘distribution’?
Generally, the following actions are considered to be distribution:
1. ‘Dealing’ in a financial product.
2. Providing a PDS.
3. Providing financial product advice.
Where a distributor ‘distributes’ a product that forms part of the DDO regime, what written information must they provide to the issuer?
- Number of complains related to the product during the reporting period specified in the TMD.
- Any other information during the reporting period as specified in the TMD.
- Any ‘significant dealings’ in the product that are not consistent with the TMD.
Does the DDO provide a definition of ‘significant dealing’?
No
What are some guidance factors on considering if something is a ‘significant dealing’?
- Proportion of customers outside the target market who acquire the product.
- Actual, or potential harm to customers (inc. financial).
- Nature and extent of the inconsistency of distribution to the TMD.
- Time period in which significant dealings took place.
What is organisational competence?
Universe of employee skills that the company must have in order to achieve their plans.
What are Fee disclosure statements?
Obligation that requires advisors to provide their clients with an annual fee disclosure statement plus a requirement for their client to “opt in” to renew their ongoing fee arrangement every two years.