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ARTICLE · 30 NOVEMBER 2016

What the Storm Financial case told us about wholesale client eligibility

Holley Nethercote
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This judgement provides guidance and clarification on several aspects and tests of wholesale client eligibility.

AustraliaFinance and Banking
David Court
David Court
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The recent decision of the Federal Court in the Storm Financial case (or, to be legally precise, the case of ASIC v Cassimatis (no.8) [2016] FCA 1023) considers a number of legal issues concerning the operation of financial services businesses.

One particular preliminary issue which arose in the case was whether particular Storm Financial clients were wholesale clients or retail clients, and the judgement provides guidance and clarification on several aspects of wholesale client eligibility.

The wholesale/retail client distinction

There are a number of eligibility tests for being a wholesale client. The details of the particular tests and the effects of holding wholesale client status can be found in our earlier article on the topic here.

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