Speaking at the Annual Stockbrokers' Conference in Melbourne yesterday, Mr Kupper said the ASX is building a pipeline of new products for Australian investors.
"We want to create the broadest possible ‘investment supermarket’ for Australian investors," he said.
“This includes domestic and international equities, government debt, corporate bonds, exchange-traded funds and unlisted managed funds, as well as all the relevant derivative and index products.”
In 2013, the ASX introduced volatility products with the VIX index and futures contracts, he said – as well as widening its fixed income offering by quoting Australian Government Bonds.
“We’re working to extend this to allow corporate bonds in the wholesale market to be offered to retail investors,” he said.
“We’re hopeful that the enabling legislation will soon be passed by parliament.”
The ASX is also “working hard” to “reinvigorate” the exchange-traded options market, which he conceded had underperformed in recent years.
“This month, we launched a new marketing campaign and a national education roadshow begins in June,” said Mr Kupper.
He also pointed to the recently-launched mFund, the ASX’s managed funds settlement service.
“mFund replaces the traditional paper-based processes and uses the same electronic system – CHESS – that is used for settling ASX share transactions,” said Mr Kupper.
“mFund is a genuine win-win for the market. It provides greater distribution to fund managers and enables ASX brokers to offer a greater choice of products to their clients,” he added.
In addition to the launch of new investment products and services, Mr Kupper also pointed to the ASX Code of Practice framework.
“The Code was established last year with a commitment to provide transparent and non-discriminatory access to ASX cash market clearing and settlement services and pricing,” he said.
“This has led to a number of industry-driven initiatives, including the proposal to move to a T+2 settlement cycle for cash equities. We completed our public consultation on this proposal last month. There is widespread industry support for shortening the settlement cycle and we hope to make a decision soon on the best way to implement it,” Mr Kupper said.
