Infrastructure investment disclosure: new ASIC rules

Key Points:

This policy applies to all infrastructure fundraising documents for retail investors dated on or after 1 July 2012.

Infrastructure investments are the latest financial products to receive an ASIC makeover.

New guidance released last week sets out ASIC expectations for disclosure to retail investors in infrastructure entities (Regulatory Guide 231 Infrastructure entities: Improving disclosure for retail investors). The guidance covers both the content and the structure of infrastructure fundraising documents.

The key points are:

• the fundraiser must disclose whether it meets a set of benchmarks prescribed by ASIC;
• it must also comply with a number of "disclosure principles" (covering issues such as fees, related party transactions, distribution policy, etc);