Product manufacturers should educate investors – ASIC

peter kell retail investors compliance ASIC australian securities and investments commission

14 May 2013
| By Staff |
image
image
expand image

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has acknowledged the need to identify and address market problems earlier to minimise the risk of failures, but has insisted that its job is not to prevent all investor losses.

This has been made clear by ASIC deputy chairman Peter Kell in a speech to a Sydney conference in which he said "market regulators cannot and should not prevent all investor losses. We are not prudential regulators".

However, he went on to acknowledge that there was a clear need "to identify and address market problems earlier, to minimise the risk of market failures leading to widespread losses and systemic weaknesses".

Kell said this was the theme for securities regulation going forward and could be seen in Future of Financial Advice changes.

"Rather than relying purely on disclosure, certain types of conflicted remuneration, notably commissions, have been prohibited going forward. A clearer legal requirement to prioritise the interests of retail investors has also been introduced — the ‘best interests' duty," he said. "We will certainly be interested to see how this is applied when advising on complex products."

However he said that from a self-regulatory perspective, product manufacturers should educate investors about a product.

"This could overcome some of the inherent weaknesses of traditional disclosure," Kell said. "We need to reduce the risk of complex products being mis-sold to investors. This is a perennial challenge."

Read more about:

AUTHOR

Recommended for you

sub-bgsidebar subscription

Never miss the latest news and developments in wealth management industry

MARKET INSIGHTS

This verdict highlights something deeply wrong and rotten at the heart of the FSCP. We are witnessing a heavy-handed, op...

7 hours ago

Interesting. Would be good to know the details of the StrategyOne deal....

4 days 12 hours ago

It’s astonishing to see the FAAA now pushing for more advisers by courting "career changers" and international recruits,...

3 weeks 2 days ago

Insignia Financial has made four appointments, including three who have joined from TAL, to lead strategy and innovation in its retirement solutions for the MLC brand....

2 weeks 4 days ago

A former Brisbane financial adviser has been charged with 26 counts of dishonest conduct regarding a failure to disclose he would receive substantial commission payments ...

3 days 10 hours ago

Pinnacle Investment Management has announced it will acquire strategic interests in two international fund managers for $142 million....

2 days 13 hours ago