ASIC releases its guidance on equity crowd funding

On Friday, ASIC released its regulatory guide on equity crowd-sourced funding (CSF) for public companies, ahead of the new laws coming in on 29 September 2017, to assist companies seeking to raise funds through equity CSF to understand and comply with their obligations when using the new regime.

This was accompanied by a new regulatory guide for intermediaries involved in the operation of equity CSF platforms, including the process for licensing of such intermediaries, who have a unique ‘gatekeeper’ obligation for operating platforms for equity CSF offers.

See the following links for full copies of the ASIC Regulatory Guides:

• Regulatory Guide 261 - Crowd-sourced funding: Guide for public companies
• Regulatory Guide 262 - Crowd-sourced funding: Guide for intermediaries

The new guidance is an essential read for any person looking to embark on an equity CSF campaign, including the template CSF offer document to be used for such a process.

Further information on crowd funding can be found on ASIC’s website here, including information on applications:

• to register new public companies or convert existing proprietary companies to public companies, to be eligible to raise funds using CSF and to access the corporate governance concessions, and
• by intermediaries for an AFS licence with an authorisation to provide CSF services.

For a reminder on the new laws coming in at the end of the month, see our recent blog on three essential things to know on the new CSF regime.

Ben Wood and Reece Walker

What attracts investors to IPOs? Critical insights for issuers

On 31 August, ASIC reported on its findings for how investors decide to invest in IPOs, with the release of Report 540: Investors in Initial Public Offerings.  The report includes details on:

• ASIC’s own inquiries with institutional investors and other financial intermediaries about their approach to investing in IPOs, and
• a qualitative research report commissioned by ASIC on the factors and information that retail investors rely on when investing in an IPO, followed by a behavioural analysis by ASIC on the research findings.