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The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has welcomed the independent report into Regulatory Guide 97 (RG 97) as a comprehensive analysis of the fees and costs issues arising under the Australian regulatory framework.
The report, prepared by expert Darren McShane, said changes to the disclosure regime would be advantageous, and discussed how fee and cost information is presented to consumers, as well as some information to be included in the disclosure, among other issues.
In the process of preparing the report, McShane engaged more than 120 stakeholders and reviewed other approaches to fees and disclosure in other jurisdictions.
ASIC agreed changes to fees and costs disclosure “are in the interests of consumers and industry,” and expressed its intent to ensure any changes are “practicable for industry while providing transparency and useable comparability for consumers.”
The corporate watchdog said it will release a consultation paper setting out its proposed response to the issues raised in the independent report in the first half of 2018-19 financial year. In the meantime, ASIC's facilitative compliance approach to fees and costs disclosure will continue.
ASIC commissioned the report in Nov. 2017 to examine whether its legislative modifications and guidance for fees and costs disclosure in relation to superannuation and managed investment products will best meet in practice the objective of greater transparency for consumers.
Visit the ASIC website for the full report.
