Asset managers to increase offshore distribution

Easier global distribution vehicles is set to encourage Australian asset managers to increase offshore distribution, according to a financial services group.

Of $2.5 trillion in assets under management in Australia at the end of December 2014, three per cent ($90 billion) were on behalf of non-residents by Australian fund managers, BNP Paribas Securities Services said.

BNP Paribas chief administrative officer, Daryl Crich, said because the Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities (UCITS) was no longer just providing access to Europe it would help increase offshore distribution.

"It is now a truly global distribution vehicle... It can also be used for distribution in Latin America, the Middle East, and Asia Pacific," he said.

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"It already has wide appeal among Chinese and Asian fund managers as a global vehicle for cross-border investment funds. As such, UCITS can provide access to China and its fund management industry which is estimated to trip in size to US$1.1 trillion this year."

However, Crich warned that asset owners and managers would need to take not of specific regulations of each jurisdiction.

"Regulations here and overseas are complicated and continually increasing. New frameworks such as UCITS V and Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive mean distributors have to comply with more stringent rules."