IFSA pushes for key changes

The Federal Government should act to ensure the creation of a consistent and robust data collection system for the financial services industry and particularly superannuation, according to a headland statement on regulation issued by the Investment and Financial Services Association(IFSA).

The statement, issued in Canberra last night, builds on a statement issued by IFSA in 2006, and argues that there is a need for Government, business and consumers to have comprehensive industry data available to them.

“In an increasingly competitive market, comprehensive data coverage is critical to future decision-making for legislative design, business and investment decisions,” it said. “Australia requires a robust superannuation data collection system to inform superannuation investors and their advisers.”

Elsewhere in the headland statement, IFSA argued for enhanced oversight of the financial services regulators either by the Reserve Bank or by an expansion of the functions of the Financial Sector Advisory Council.

Also on the agenda was a review of the takeover provisions of the Corporations Act in circumstances where IFSA argues they need to be amended to “facilitate market efficiency and to remove legal impediments that restrict the potential financial returns to investors in Australian managed funds”.

The statement suggests that the current provisions of the Act, coupled with the growth in the Australian managed funds market, have made it increasingly difficult for entities to stay below the existing 20 per cent threshold and unduly limited the market for control.

It said Australia, with a takeover threshold of 20 per cent, was currently out of step with jurisdictions such as the US, United Kingdom, Canada, Hong Kong and Singapore, where the threshold is 30 per cent.