The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has rejected media suggestions that a "narrow exemption" it allowed in 2005 on disclosing fees and charges on generic online calculators served to compromise its regulatory position.
The regulator said the allegations were incorrect because the calculators did not promote any particular financial product that investors might have been considering.
It said that, in doing so, it had not provided businesses with an exemption from having to disclose fees and charges.
"The law requires that product issuers clearly disclose the fees and charges that a consumer pays in relation to the particular product they are considering," ASIC said.
"This must be disclosed in the product disclosure statement or statement of advice. This is a long-standing cornerstone of financial regulation."
"The narrow exemption referred to in the media report, and which was given in 2005, applies only to generic online calculators which do not promote any particular financial product that the investor may be considering."
ASIC went on to defend the role of generic calculators, saying they provided a useful tool for helping consumers understand the impact of returns and fees on their investment or the impact of increasing repayments on loans.
