TheAustralian Securities and Investments Commission(ASIC) will release a discussion paper about disclosure on socially responsible investment (SRI) products which could see it use new powers granted to it under the Financial Services Reform Act.
ASIC deputy executive director for consumer protection, Delia Rickard, made the announcement of the planned release of the paper at a forum on finance and sustainability hosted by Environment Australia and the Environment Protection Authority of Victoria.
“Any guidelines would aim to help ensure that consumers can choose a product which most closely matches their SRI investment objectives,” she says.
“They would also aim to provide industry with greater certainty about meeting the disclosure requirements.”
Rickard emphasised the fact that ASIC’s powers will not be to prescribe the labour standards or environmental, social, or ethical standards each SRI product should be applying, nor the screening process the funds should use.
The FSRA included a requirement for investment products to disclose in their product disclosure statements the extent to which they take labour standards, and environmental, social and ethical considerations into account in the selection, retention or realisation of the investment.
ASIC will be seeking broad industry consultation over the contents of the discussion paper when it is released, and will give the industry six weeks to respond with submissions. No decision on whether to proceed with the guidelines will be made until after the consultation process is complete.
