The Corporations and Markets Advisory Committee (CAMAC) has released a discussion paper on managed investment schemes.

CAMAC has taken the view that the regulatory regime for schemes should be aligned with that for companies, unless there are compelling reasons for treating schemes differently.

The paper deals primarily with the establishment and ongoing operation of schemes and raises a broad range of governance, disclosure and regulatory issues.

The issues raised in this paper cover the following areas:

• definitional matters
• scheme registration
• the governance framework for schemes, including the scheme constitution, the RE, and the compliance and risk management framework
• matters relating to scheme members, including meetings disclosure
• takeovers and reorganisations
• external administration of schemes
• regulatory powers and enforcement
• international issues.

In addition, the paper:

• canvasses the possibility of assisting responsible entities to manage scheme capital by providing a statutory buy‑back procedure similar to that for companies
• reviews the various disclosure requirements for schemes with a view to determining what disclosure regime would best achieve the information needs of scheme investors, while avoiding undue administrative burdens
• raises issues relating to valuation of scheme assets, which is a key factor in the pricing of scheme interests and is of particular significance for investors in unlisted schemes.