ASIC chair Greg Medcraft has identified transparency of superannuation investment portfolios as a main goal for the regulator to help achieve in the immediate future.
“I’d like to see more portfolio level disclosure in super. My view is the most skin in the game that somebody has is the investor so they should be able to see where their money is. That seems logical to me,” Medcraft told delegates at the Financial Services Council 2011 Annual Conference.
The ASIC chair also pinpointed other areas he thought needed addressing outside of superannuation to rebuild investor confidence.
“The frozen fund segment in terms of mortgage trusts has clearly got to unfreeze. I think that’s important,” Medcraft said.
“Also in the hedge fund space and what happened with Trio, there are some lessons to come out of that. So I think improving confidence in that space again I think is important,” he explained.
In relation to longer term goals, Medcraft said he’d like ASIC to be seen as more than just a regulatory body.
“My view is to have ASIC be seen as an organisation that is focused on outcomes and, in fact, three outcomes: confident and informed investors; efficient financial markets; and a registry licensing system,” he said.
Medcraft added ASIC had the diversity of skills needed to achieve this.
“We’ve got an ex-banker, we’ve got an economist, we’ve got a chartered accountant, and we’ve got a couple of lawyers. I think it’s important to have a blend of people and a blend of skills because you also need a diversity of thinking in terms of resolving issues,” he said.
