Emerging financial products to form part of ASIC's new strategic priorities

Australia’s public and private markets and emerging financial products will form a new pillar of ASIC’s expanded strategic priorities over the next 12 months.

In  a statement on 22 August, Australian Securities and Investments Commission chair Joe Longo said the agency’s latest Corporate Plan included a new pillar in its strategic priorities that underscored a commitment to strengthening integrity across Australia’s markets.

"The integrity of our markets is fundamental to maintaining trust in Australia’s financial system which is core to ASIC’s remit,"Longo said.

"Trust in the financial system and markets means greater confidence which means more investment. That has direct benefits for the jobs and opportunities of Australians.

"While Australia’s private markets are dwarfed in size by our listed equity markets, their opacity presents an outsized risk to market integrity, particularly as more investors become exposed.

"The addition of a new strategic priority aimed at driving consistency and transparency across markets and products puts all market participants on notice."

Longo said the transformation work that had been underway at ASIC over the past three years had helped the agency to review and clarify its focus areas.

"While the overarching themes of our existing strategic priorities remain consistent, our updated Corporate Plan demonstrate how we are evolving and adapting to the changing needs of our operating environment,’ Mr Longo said.

"As the agency embeds the new structure we implemented last year, we are better able to anticipate and respond to threats and opportunities.

"The new structure and our strategic priorities are also helping better guide decisions about how to deploy ASIC’s limited resources.

"In the last year alone we commenced around 170 new investigations - an increase of about 25%, and we filed 33 new civil proceedings in the Federal Court - an increase of 27% in civil proceedings on the previous year. Our investigations have led to 18 criminal convictions and seen a further 23 individuals charged by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecution for criminal offences.

"Our latest Corporate Plan and strategic priorities represent the next step of ASIC’s transformation journey to being a modern, confident and ambitious regulator."