Client Update: Funds Management – October 2004
Fee disclosure update
In brief: ASIC has announced class order relief to extend the date for compliance with the dollar disclosure regime from 1 January 2005 to 1 March 2005. Senior Associate Justine Woodford reports that ASIC does not expect to grant any further general extension to this revised compliance date.
Background
We reported in AAR's Focus: Funds Management, September 2004, that the Dollar Disclosure Regulations (the regulations) had been gazetted and that the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) was in the process of developing a policy to implement the regulations.
Extension of the transitional period
On 7 October 2004, ASIC announced that it had issued class order 04/1176 to extend the date for compliance with the dollar disclosure regime from 1 January 2005 to 1 March 2005. The class order relief provides Australian financial services licensees (and their representatives) and product issuers with a further two–month extension to the transition period, and means that they will now need to disclose the various fees and benefits as amounts in dollars in disclosure documents prepared on or after 1 March 2005. Importantly, the class order relief does not require any self-certification process or the lodgment of a reliance notice with ASIC.
In announcing the class order relief, ASIC said that the extension of the transitional period 'will give industry a short period of additional time to comply with the eventual final regime while acknowledging the challenges some participants will face when introducing new systems and amending their disclosure documents over the December to January holiday period'. It also said that it does not expect to grant any further general extension to the date for compliance with the dollar disclosure regime and, in fact, expects those affected to already be planning how they will comply with their dollar disclosure obligations.
Finalisation of ASIC's policy
As part of the announcement about the extension of the transitional period, ASIC has said that it expects to issue a final policy statement on dollar disclosure in November 2004.
We'll keep you informed about further developments. In the meantime, if you have any queries about this or other FSR issues, contact one of our FSR experts.
For further information, please contact:
- Derek HeathConsultant,
Sydney
Ph: +61 2 9230 4233
Derek.Heath@allens.com.au - Mark CerchéPartner,
Melbourne
Ph: +61 3 9613 8872
Mark.Cerche@allens.com.au - John BeckinsalePartner,
Brisbane
Ph: +61 7 3334 3520
John.Beckinsale@allens.com.au