We will be undertaking a detailed review of the material. In summary: 

1. ASIC proposes new licensing relief for foreign funds managers  to professional investors.  The relief will be subject to a cap and will only be available if less than 10% of annual aggregated consolidated gross revenue, including that of related entities, is generated from the provision of funds management financial services in Australia.  It would seem that fund managers who meet this cap may not need one of the new foreign licences.
2. The limited connection relief will be repealed as proposed by ASIC in its earlier CP 301.  Fund managers therefore appear to be in a better position than other businesses.
3. ASIC is considering the position where an Australian professional client initiates contact with a FFSP (reverse solicitation).  Currently, ASIC does not propose to grant relief in this situation due to the lack of information from industry about how it would be used and its concerns about monitoring compliance with its conditions.
4. The limited connection relief will however be extended to 31 March 2020 while ASIC consults on the funds management relief and repeal of the ‘limited connection’ relief.  ASIC proposes a transition period of six months to 30 September 2020 should it proceed with the repeal of the ‘limited connection’ relief, enabling FFSPs to seek an AFSL if applicable.
5. ASIC will implement  a foreign AFS licensing regime for FFSPs relying on the ‘sufficient equivalence’ licensing relief (the exemptions for entities licensed by the SEC, FCA, MAS, HKSFC, etc) as discussed in CP 301. ASIC has released a draft updated RG 176 attached to CP 315; which provides guidance on how foreign providers may apply for the foreign AFS licence.
6. ASIC will extend the sufficient equivalence relief until 31 March 2020 and the new foreign AFS licensing regime will commence on 1 April 2020.  FFSPs currently relying on the sufficient equivalence relief will have a transition period of 24 months until 31 March 2022 to comply with the new regime, including for example to submit an application for a foreign AFS licence and have the application assessed by ASIC.
7. Submissions on ASIC’s proposals close on 9 August 2019.

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