A licence to bill: ASIC
It is remarkable how many people were surprised by the comments provided to a Parliamentary committee by senior executives of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) on the underlying workings of Australian Financial Services Licences (AFSLs).
In short, the regulator made clear that an AFSL was much like a motorist’s licence — it is merely proof that the holder has met the requirements relating to driving, not that they are a good driver and an appropriate road user.
This, of course, begs the question of whether the granting of an AFSL should be a more onerous process and whether, having gained a licence, the holder of an AFSL should be more closely scrutinised by the regulator.
Perhaps as the Federal Government moves further down the track of reviewing the workings of the financial services industry it should examine the existing licensing regime and the manner in which it is perceived by the public.
However, on the available evidence, not even a more rigorous licensing regime would have served to avert collapses such as Storm and Westpoint. In both cases, culture rather than compliance was the issue.
— Mike Taylor
Recommended for you
In this episode of Relative Return, host Maja Garaca Djurdjevic chats with Chris McGibbon, global head of real estate at Nuveen, about the long-term outlook and why the “knife has stopped falling” in property.
In this new episode of The Manager Mix, host Laura Dew speaks to Nick Paul, institutional portfolio manager at MFS Investment Management to delve into everything small and mid-cap equities.
In this episode of Relative Return, host Laura Dew chats with Kellie Wood, head of fixed income and deputy head of fixed income and multi-asset at Schroders Australia, to discuss why fixed income is returning to favour after a 12-year wait.
In this episode of Relative Return, host Laura Dew speaks with Michael Hunstad, deputy chief investment officer and chief investment officer of global equities at Northern Trust Asset Management, to debunk myths around index investing.