Centre for International Finance and Regulation (CIFR)
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Ian Ramsay, George Gilligan, Paul Ali and Andrew Godwin
Project Title
An Analysis of Penalties under ASIC Administered Legislation
Grant Scheme
Centre for International Finance and Regulation (CIFR)
Project Summary
The project, based on a research project recommended by ASIC to Melbourne Law School, aims to conduct a holistic review of penalties over a 10 year period 2003-2013, to assess whether adquate penalties are available to ASIC and set at an appropriate level..
Duration
2014-2016
Chief Investigators
Professor Ian Ramsay
Dr George Gilligan
Associate Professor Paul Ali
Mr Andrew Godwin -
Andrew Godwin, Ian Ramsay, Guo Li
Project Title
Financial System Regulation: Is Australia's "Twin peaks" Approach a Model for China?
Grant Scheme
Centre for International Finance and Regulation (CIFR)
Project Summary
As financial institutions and the financial markets in China become more integrated and sophisticated, it is likely that China will need to reconsider its approach to financial regulation and review developments in other markets. The research team will consider the extent to which Australia’s “twin peaks” approach to financial services regulation provides a model for reform in China.
Duration
2013-2014
Funding
Chief Investigators
Mr Andrew Godwin
Professor Ian Ramsay
Professor Guo Li (Peking University Law School) -
Ian Ramsay, Paul Ali and Chander Shekhar
Project Title
Financial Literacy and Innovation in Superannuation Product Disclosure: Improving the Retirement Savings of Australians
Grant Scheme
Centre for International Finance and Regulation (CIFR)
Project Summary
Superannuation is the central pillar of Australia’s unique retirement savings system. Current estimates predict that only 35% of Australians will be adequately provided for in retirement. Factors including an aging population, increased life-expectancies and higher costs of living and the inadequacy of many superannuation balances suggest strongly the need for working Australians to actively manage their superannuation investments from earlier in their working lives. Our project responds to these issues by focusing on the potential for regulatory innovations in superannuation consumer information to change consumer behaviour. Specifically, our study proposes to survey 25-35 year old superannuation consumers to understand the interaction with superannuation information. Drawing on behavioural economics our study will provide regulators, the superannuation industry and consumer bodies with key insights about how superannuation information can assist consumers in their retirement savings planning. Our project will offer new insights about current behaviours and attitudes with the potential to improve retirement savings outcomes.
Duration
2013-2014
Chief Investigators
Professor Ian Ramsay
Associate Professor Paul Ali
Mr Chander Shekhar -
Cally Jordan and Stephane Rousseau
Project Title
Success and Failure in Stock Exchange Consolidations: Implications for Markets and their Regulation
Grant Scheme
Centre for International Finance and Regulation (CIFR)
Project Summary
Stock exchanges engaged in a frenzy of consolidation efforts recently, some successful, others not. In 2011 alone, several high profile mergers, Singapore and Sydney, NYSE Euronext and Deutsche Borse, London and Toronto, met with regulatory, political and industry opposition. In one sense, the exchanges are only catching up with the technological realities of international markets. Traditional market institutions have been undergoing change and restructuring for decades. Consolidation began at national levels in response to competitive pressures, and then spread to the creation of regional and supra-regional institutions in an effort to achieve strategic and operational advantages. This project examines the process of stock exchange consolidations, and the alternatives, from a regulatory and market perspective and examines the reasons for success or failure. There are lessons to be learned from both the successes and the failures, with implications for the future direction of regulatory change and the market institutions themselves.
Duration
2012-2014
Chief Investigators
Associate Professor Cally Jordan
Professor Stephane Rousseau (University of Montreal, Canada) -
Paul Ali and Ian Ramsay
Project Title
Assessing the Governance of Institutional Investors when Investing in Complex Financial Products
Grant Scheme
Centre for International Finance and Regulation (CIFR)
Project Summary
Institutional investment in Australia is both highly innovative and complex. The global financial crisis and the large losses that have flowed from investments in complex financial products have focused attention on the sellers of those products. However, less attention has been paid to the institutional investors who invest in complex financial products and the role of the external parties that provide investment-related services to institutional investors. This project will be the first in-depth study of the legal structure of Australia institutional investment, in the context of investments in complex financial products, the legal relationships between the participants in the selection of those investments and the legal duties that arise out of those relationships. This project will also examine the legal protections available to institutional investors and their own investors, when investing in complex financial products, and whether regulatory reform is required.
Duration
2012-2013
Chief Investigators
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Paul Ali and Ian Ramsay
Project Title
Evaluating the Impact of Securities Loans on Shareholder Rights and the Governance of Listed Companies
Grant Scheme
Centre for International Finance and Regulation (CIFR)
Project Summary
Securities loans are a common feature of the Australian and global financial markets, and describe dealings under which a trader or investor sources securities temporarily from institutional investors, such as a superannuation fund. This practice has generated considerable controversy in the midst of the recent global financial crisis due to the prominent role played by securities loans in facilitating short selling. In addition to this, securities loans carry broad implications for the governance of companies. Securities loans make possible vote buying, by enabling the voting rights attaching to shares to be separated from the economic ownership represented by those shares. This project will be the first in-depth Australian study of the corporate governance implications of securities loans. The project will also examine the implications for shareholder rights and consider whether regulatory reform is required to protect shareholders.
Duration
2012-2013
Chief Investigators
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Andrew Godwin and Ian Ramsay
Project Title
Financial Products and Short-form Disclosure Documents - Challenges and Trends
Grant Scheme
Centre for International Finance and Regulation (CIFR)
Project Summary
Recent years have seen a global trend towards the adoption of uniform rules governing disclosure in relation to retail financial products. This trend has been reflected in the adoption of plain language techniques, the move towards short-form disclosure documents, and efforts to increase the quality of financial advice and financial literacy on the part of retail investors.This project will analyse the challenges and trends in relation to short-form disclosure documents from a comparative perspective. The research will consider the effectiveness of short-form disclosure documents, particularly in terms of increasing risk awareness, the interface between short-form disclosure documents and other measures (eg Plain language techniques and investor education) and whether there is a case for global or regional harmonisation. Developments in the following markets will be examined for this purpose: Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong and Singapore.
Duration
2012-2013
Chief Investigators