Centre for International Finance and Regulation (CIFR) Projects


The following CIFR projects are being undertaken by members of the Centre for Corporate Law, in conjunction with other collaborators:

Financial Literacy and Innovation in Superannuation Product Disclosure: Improving the Retirement Savings of Australians

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 focussing 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.

Researchers

Associate Professor Paul Ali, Professor Ian Ramsay and Dr Chander Shekhar

Project publications

Paul Ali, Malcolm Anderson, Martin Clark, Ian Ramsay and Chander Shekhar, Superannuation Knowledge, Behaviour and Attitudes in Young Adults in Australia

Paul Ali, Malcolm Anderson, Martin Clark, Ian Ramsay and Chander Shekhar, No Thought for Tomorrow: Young Australian Adults' Knowledge, Behaviour and Attitudes about Superannuation

Assessing the Governance of Institutional Investors when Investing in Complex Financial Products

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 Australian 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.

Researchers

Associate Professor Paul Ali and Professor Ian Ramsay

Project publications

Paul Ali, Jesse Jager and Ian Ramsay, Legal Considerations for Superannuation Investors When Investing in Complex Financial Products

Financial Products and Short-form Disclosure Documents – Challenges and Trends

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 (e.g. 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.

Researchers

Mr Andrew Godwin and Professor Ian Ramsay

Project publications

Andrew Godwin and Ian Ramsay, Financial Products and Short‐Form Disclosure Documents ‐ Challenges and Trends

Andrew Godwin and Ian Ramsay, Short-Form Disclosure Documents ― An Empirical Survey of Six Jurisdictions

Evaluating the Impact of Securities Loans on Shareholder Rights and the Governance of Listed Companies

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 global financial crisis due to the prominent role deployed 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.

Researchers

Associate Professor Paul Ali and Professor Ian Ramsay

Project publications

Paul Ali, Ian Ramsay and Benjamin Saunders, The Legal Structure and Regulation of Securities Lending

Paul Ali, Ian Ramsay and Benjamin Saunders, Securities Lending, Empty Voting and Corporate Governance

Financial System Regulation – is Australia's "twin peaks" approach a model for China?

Project Summary

The global financial crisis and its fallout have tested the integrity and resilience of regulatory frameworks in respect of financial services and have led to significant reforms to those frameworks around the world. As financial institutions and the financial markets in China become more integrated and sophisticated, it is likely that China will need to re-consider its approach to financial regulation and review developments in other markets. Inevitably, its attention will turn to the models and reforms introduced in markets such as the United Kingdom and the United States. In this research project, the researchers propose to consider the extent to which Australia's 'twin peaks' approach to financial services regulation provides a model for reform in China. Although the primary focus is on China, the researchers will also consider the extent to which the 'twin peaks' model is relevant to other emerging markets in Asia.

Researchers

Mr Andrew Godwin, Professor Ian Ramsay and Professor Li Guo (Peking University Law School)

Project publications

Andrew Godwin, Steve Kourabas and Ian Ramsay, Financial Stability Authorities and Macroprudential Regulation

Andrew Godwin, Timothy Howse and Ian Ramsay, A Jurisdictional Comparison of the Twin Peaks Model of Financial Regulation

Andrew Godwin, Steve Kourabas and Ian Ramsay, Twin Peaks and Financial Regulation: The Challenges of Increasing Regulatory Overlap and Expanding Responsibilities

Andrew Godwin and Ian Ramsay, Twin Peaks – The Legal and Regulatory Anatomy of Australia's System of Financial Regulation

Andrew Godwin, Li Guo and Ian Ramsay, Is Australia's 'Twin Peaks' System of Financial Regulation a Model for China?

Success and Failure in Stock Exchange Consolidations: Implications for Markets and their Regulation

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.

Researchers

Professor Cally Jordan and Professor Stephane Rousseau (university of Montreal Law School)

Project publications

Cally Jordan, Exchange Consolidations: Success and Failure