The Federal Government has announced the appointment of a new full-time chair, James Shipton, to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) for a five-year period from 1 February, 2018.
Shipton is currently leading a research centre at Harvard Law School where he is the executive director of the Program on International Financial Systems.
For the three years prior to his appointment in 2016, he was executive director and commission member at the Securities and Futures Commission in Hong Kong, which is the equivalent of a commissioner at ASIC. He was head of intermediaries supervision and licensing division and had 250 staff report to him.
He has over 20 years of experience across academia, regulation, the financial industry, and the law.
Minister for Revenue and Financial Services, Kelly O’Dwyer, expressed her appreciation to outgoing chair, Greg Medcraft for his tenure at ASIC both as a chair and as a member.
“Mr Medcraft has overseen significant changes in ASIC’s role during his tenure, including reforms to improve the quality of financial advice and financial literacy, and the establishment of a national business names register,” O’Dwyer said.
Deputy chair, Peter Kell will be acting chair from the time Medcraft’s term ends on 12 November to when Shipton begins his term in February.
Insignia Financial has announced the status of the two private equity bidders as due diligence comes to an end.
The future of superannuation policy remains uncertain, with further reforms potentially on the horizon as the Albanese government seeks to curb the use of superannuation as a bequest vehicle.
Superannuation funds will have two options for charging fees for the advice provided by the new class of adviser.
The proposed reforms have been described as a key step towards delivering better products and retirement experiences for members, with many noting financial advice remains the “urgent missing piece” of the puzzle.