The Murray Inquiry’s Final Report brings good news for the funds management sector and its desire to compete internationally. This is described as a priority area of reform and Government action as it is a key component of getting the blueprint right for the Australian financial system into the future.
The Inquiry’s rationale for supporting this area of reform is based upon its philosophy that the primary means of improving the efficiency of our financial system is through competition, noting that developments and opportunities in Asia make change imperative.
The Inquiry’s recommendations in this area are intended to rebalance the Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s regulatory focus towards competition and remove barriers to cross border provision of financial services and the free flow of capital into and out of Australia. In addition the Inquiry also recommended:
- that the Government should treat as a priority area of action the recommendations of the recently abolished Corporations and Markets Advisory Committee (CAMAC) in its 2012 and 2014 reports including in relation to removing impediments in Australia’s regulatory architecture which make it harder for our funds sector to do cross border business; and
- that the Government consider the introduction of alternative collective investment vehicles such as corporate tax flow-through vehicles to facilitate the growth of our management of foreign funds.
To find out more, see our related posts or our comprehensive analysis on our website. And see this post for an introduction to the Final Report.