AMH pays penalties for misleading statements
Australian Mutual Holdings Limited (AMH) has received $20,400 in penalties after the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) issued two infringement notices relating to statements in Product Disclosure Statements (PDSs) for two investor funds it manages.
The penalty payable under each of the infringement notices was $10,200.
In a statement issued on the ASIC website today, the regulator said AMH was the responsible entity for Trident Global Growth Fund, which launched in 2010, and the Trident Income Plus Fund, which launched in 2013.
ASIC was concerned that until October 2013, the PDSs contained misleading statements by claiming the majority of the funds’ assets were held by the funds’ custodian. In fact, the majority of the assets were held in an AMH trading account with the funds’ prime broker.
“PDSs are key documents which investors use to make important financial decisions,” said ASIC Commissioner Greg Tanzer. “They must be accurate.”
The regulator said that the payment of an infringement notice was not an admission of a contravention of the Australian Securities and Investment Commission Act 2001 consumer protection provisions. ASIC can issue an infringement notice where it has reasonable grounds to believe a person has contravened certain consumer protection laws.
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