In April 2016 I published an article on the myriad of problems in Australian financial services that ASIC had failed to address. The article was written shortly after the announcement that ASIC’s then head, Greg Medcraft, was being given an eighteen-month extension to his initial five-year term. Show More
The revelations last week at the Banking Royal Commission illustrate the economic principle that people respond to incentives. Charlie Munger long ago summed this up with “show me the incentive and I will show you the outcome”. The rewards for ripping off customers are substantial, the probability of being caught... Show More
It’s ‘World Investor Week’ this week, and ASIC have put out some practical tips that are worth keeping in mind, even for experienced investors. “Smart investors don't rely on good luck; they plan, research and understand their investments and how they fit with their financial goals”, was the message from... Show More
In The Australian Financial Review I argue that the equities market has embarked on a one-eyed, crazy-brave rally intoxicated by Trump tequila that ignores the risk of even more savage future discount rate increases given the remarkably low 4.6% US jobless rate and robust wages growth that is now on... Show More
ASIC today released a report on its regulation of corporate fundraising activities. http://www.asic.gov.au/about-asic/media-centre/find-a-media-release/2016-releases/16-276mr-asic-publishes-fifth-report-on-corporate-finance-regulation/ While offering brief comments in relation to the Guvera IPO, the report's observations about technology company IPO prospectuses are worth noting: insufficient disclosure of the business model - aka how revenue will be generated; inadequate explanation of... Show More
ASIC today released findings of its study of the due diligence processes adopted by 12 IPOs. http://www.asic.gov.au/regulatory-resources/find-a-document/reports/rep-484-due-diligence-practices-in-initial-public-offerings/ Two key findings are of particular concern. The first is evidence of superficial involvement by the issuer's Board of Directors: certain directors have little involvement in preparing the prospectus before signing off on... Show More
Greg Medcraft is lucky to still be the Chairman of ASIC. The eighteen-month extension to his term gives him an opportunity to fix the many problems he hasn’t done much on in his first five years. As a the graphic below from a recent review of ASIC’s capabilities shows, there’s... Show More
“ASIC cracks whip on IPO hopefuls” was one recent headline in the Australian Financial Review, on the same day (April 19) that a story in another part of the newspaper carried the headline “Investors warned to be wary of overpriced floats.’’ Show More
ASIC's report on its review of the management of conflicts of interest in the vertically integrated funds-management industry http://www.asic.gov.au/regulatory-resources/find-a-document/reports/rep-474-culture-conduct-and-conflicts-of-interest-in-vertically-integrated-businesses-in-the-funds-management-industry/ and its seven indicators of culture caught my eye. Currently the Criminal Code (Cth) defines corporate culture as meaning 'an attitude, policy, rule, course of conduct or practice existing within the... Show More
Last week, the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) published its review of HFT (REP 452: Review of high-frequency trading and dark liquidity). As computer-based trading dominates trading activities in our market, it makes a timely and important review by the Commission. While it concluded that HFT activity is not... Show More
We believe ASIC urgently needs to get involved to clarify the facts around UGL's warning last week. Last week, UGL provided the market with an update that revealed it faced potential damages claim relating to the construction of the Ichthys LNG project. The stock slumped 15 per cent. The warning... Show More
Quarterly equity market data recently released by ASIC provided insight into the complexity of trading in today's stock market. Average trade size for the March quarter was steady at $5,300, down from $11,000 a few years ago as buy-sides continue the transition to algorithmic trading. Dark trading accounted for 26%... Show More
BestEx provided Livewire with an exclusive Q&A on HFT: Much of the opposition to HFT in Australia has been emotional and ill-informed. HFT has been described as 'legalised front-running' and unfairly accused of causing market instability. Opponents have called for the practice to be banned, arguing that participants that don't... Show More
Option to set up a self managed super fund will be available to investors with super balances of all sizes. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has said that it will not prescribe a mandatory minimum account balance for the establishment of self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs). In an address... Show More
Good news for UK investors with the FCA announcement overnight that they will ban investment managers use of dealing commission to fund corporate access. Hopefully the Australian authorities follow suit to address the problem here. http://www.fca.org.uk/news/fca-proposes-new-rules-on-dealing-commission-for-investment-managers Show More