CCIV and Asian Funds Passport are more accessible now

Gilbers and Tobin have published an International Comparative Legal Guide – Fintech 2022. In it, they make reference to the CCIV and Asian Funds Passport.

You can read the report here!

The Australian Treasury has created a new type of Australian investment vehicle. This Corporate Collective Investment Vehicle (CCIV) will allow both Foreign and Australian fund managers to pursue investment opportunities through a company structure.

Treasury goals

One of the goals of the Australian Treasury was to complement the Asia Region Funds Passport (ARFP) framework by making Australian funds more accessible to foreign investors. Both wholesale and retail CCIVs require ASIC registration.

In 2018 the Asia Region Funds Passport (ARFP) was introduced by a region-wide initiative led by Australia, New Zealand, the Republics of Korea and Singapore.

ARFP is a multilateral framework that facilitates the cross-border marketing of managed funds across economies that participate in Passport in the Asia region.

This means that offers of interests in collective investment schemes that are established in Passport member countries to investors in other Passport member countries can be done with ease. The new CCIV regime, with its reduced regulatory hurdles, aims to provide Australian operators and fund managers with greater access to countries and their economies in the Asia-Pacific region.

CCIVs or Corporate Collective Vehicles are now able to register sub-funds as Australian passport funds under the Asia Region Funds Passport (ARFP) scheme. 

To register an Australian passport fund, follow this link.

If you are an overseas fund and seek to have it registered in Australia as a “notified fund” under the Asia Region Funds Passport (ARFP) Memorandum of agreement, go here.

The Memorandum of Cooperation (Memorandum of Cooperation) on the Establishment and Implementation of the Asia Region Funds Passport has already been signed by the following countries:

• Australia
• Korea
• Japan
• New Zealand

The main objectives for the Asia Region Funds Passport include:

• With the increased accessibility the fund’s passport regime provides, there needs to be evidence of the benefits of increased competition (e.g. greater fund choice and lower fees)
• Investor protection is paramount. The operation and offerings of passport funds must ensure a high degree of investor protection so that investors are fully informed and confident when they invest.
• The region’s investment management sector is strengthened in both capacity and competitiveness.
• The region’s financial markets will enjoy improved access to finance and liquidity, ensuring the Asian Region Funds Passport economies can continue to maintain financial system efficiency and stability.