News & Events

Foreign investment in Australian technology: do we need a FIRRMA approach?

March 2019 | Justin Fox - Corrs Chambers Westgarth


Recent changes to the way the United States regulates foreign investment in its technology assets have highlighted an interesting contrast to Australia’s approach. Late last year, President Trump signed into law the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernisation Act (FIRRMA). FIRRMA significantly expands the type of transactions that are subject to review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), to include ‘other investments’ involving critical infrastructure, critical technologies or personal data.

Flip-Flopping on Policy – The Australian Government’s Approach to MITs and Stapled Structures

April 2018 | Muhunthan Kanagaratnam, Chris Merjane, Tina Chen and Matthew Charman, Gilbert + Tobin


The Australian Government has targeted the use of Managed Investment Trusts (MITs) by foreign investors in a reversal of original policy objectives to the introduction of MITs, while couching the proposed package in terms of levelling the playing field.

US Tax Reform and Its Implications for Australia

March 2018 | Professor Richard Vann, Toby Eggleston and Nick Heggart, Greenwoods & Herbert Smith Freehills


This tax brief discusses those aspects of the US tax reform which have most relevance to Australian corporate and international taxation, both from a tax policy perspective and for inbound and outbound investment to and from the US.

Australian Islamic Finance Opportunities for 2018

February 2018 | Christopher Aylward, Islamic Finance News


As with a number of other developed economies which are ‘developing nations’ in the world of Islamic finance, Australia is all about opportunities and what could be. The difficulty is determining whether these opportunities will be seized and what will be.

Is a Digital AUD the Way of the Future?

January 2018 | Hillary Ray, Cowell Clarke


As the payments system continues to evolve, the RBA’s Governor considers the pros and cons of a digital dollar.

The AIFMD Third Country Passport – An Update

September 2016 | Monica Gogna, Michelle Moran, Anand Damodaran, Matthew Judd and John Young, Ropes & Gray


The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published on 19 July 2016 its final advice to the European Commission (the Commission) on the extension of the marketing passport under the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) to 12 non-EEA countries, including the United States. This note is intended to highlight ESMA’s advice to the Commission and set out the steps firms would need to consider when applying for a third country passport.

Of Activists and Activism: Why We Have Seen a Rise in Activist Funds Examining Australian Listed Entities for Opportunities

September 2014 | Andrew Lumsden and Jonathan Farrer, Corrs Chambers Westgarth


The recent surge in attention being given to ‘activist shareholders’ in Australia has seen them getting a more sympathetic ear from fund managers. Previously low profile funds are now showing a willingness to engage with activists to understand their proposals for improving share price performance rather than necessarily siding with the incumbents.

Reporting Red Tape - Australia's Superannuation Reporting Requirements

August 2014 | Mark McFarlane, Alex Elser and Laura Foster, King & Wood Mallesons


We recently conducted a survey of superannuation members. Admittedly, this survey was limited to a small sample size consisting of people the authors know and work with.

Tax Concessions for Australian Managed Investment Trusts

February 2013 | Karen Payne, Minter Ellison


Australian managed investment trusts (MITs) (as defined for tax purposes) are eligible for the following important tax concessions: (a.) MIT withholding: that is, a concessional rate of withholding tax applies to 'fund payments' made to foreign investors who are tax resident in a country that has an information exchange agreement with Australia1; and (b.) MIT capital account safe harbour: that is, the MIT may elect to apply the capital gains tax (CGT) provisions as the primary code for taxing gains and losses on the disposal of eligible assets (namely a share in a company, non-share equity, a unit in a unit trust, land - including an interest in land and a right to acquire or dispose of any of these assets)2

Australia - A New Islamic Finance Hub?

November 2012 | Nigel Denison


Islamic finance has a long history. However, it has only developed on a global scale over the last 30 years. In that relatively short space of time the industry has grown rapidly and the global market now exceeds US$1 trillion.

How Will the European Union Directive on Alternative Investment Fund Managers (AIFMD) Affect Australian Fund Managers?

April 2012 | Fadi Khoury, Norton Rose


The recent economic landscape has seen a significant regulatory overhaul of the financial services sector in Europe. This article highlights the impact of the European Union Directive on Alternative Investment Fund Managers (AIFMD) and how it will affect Australian fund managers seeking to undertake capital raising activities in Europe.

Managing Conflicts in Financial Services - Australian Fund Market

July 2005 | John Moutsopoulos, Clayton Utz


Many participants in the Australian fund market have always been subject to general obligations to avoid conflicts as a matter of common law, arising out of the fiduciary relationship between a particular participant and their client.

Hedge Fund Interview with Jaguar Funds

October 2004 | Eurekahedge


The Jaguar Australian Leaders Long Short Fund Limited was established in 2003 by Glenn Rosewall and Robert Hunter. Jaguar Australian Leaders Long Short Fund Limited is its flagship fund. The fund is a long/short equity fund investing exclusively in Australia. It was launched in March 2003 and was +17.3% in 2003 and is +3.7% in 2004.

Hedge Fund Interview with Alteris Investment Managers

September 2004 | Eurekahedge


Founded in 2002 by Kaveh Jahromi, Alteris Investment Managers specialises in hedge funds. The Sydney-based firm manages the Australian Absolute Return Fund and will soon launch the Asia Pacific Absolute Combined Fund. Alteris tells us more about the latter in this interview.

Interview with Michael Brookes, Fund Manager of the St Helens Ailsa Long Short Fund

October 2003 | Eurekahedge


Interview with Michael Brookes, Fund Manager of the St Helens Ailsa Long Short Fund

Australian Hedge Fund Industry: Is the growth sustainable in 2003?

March 2003 | Derek Sicklen, Vice President Alternative Asset Management, JP Morgan


The hedge fund industry in Australia has experienced significant growth over the past year, with some estimates placing funds under management increasing from around US $0.7 billion in 2001 to US $1.1 billion in 2002. It is likely that these estimates are on the conservative side. The reasons for this growth are both demand and supply driven, with an increasing appetite among institutional investors for alternative investments, the entry of new players (both local and foreign), as well as the existence of substantial domestic retail demand. Looking ahead, will all the above drivers continue to foster such growth in the industry and are there any other factors which are likely to impact assets managed in hedge funds in 2003?

Australia: Legal Issues relating to Superannuation Trustees as HF Investors

September 2002 | Tessa Hoser (Senior Associate) & Katherine, Henzell (Graduate Lawyer) - Blake Dawson, Waldron (Sydney)


The Australian hedge fund market has undergone significant expansion in recent years and is now receiving fund allocations by the trustees of superannuation funds, the Australian equivalent of a retirement or pension fund. These superannuation funds are established as trusts. There are therefore a range of legal issues that superannuation trustees need to address in order to fulfil their obligations to fund members when investing in less traditional assets such as hedge funds.

Convertible Bond Arbitrage

August 2002 | Niall Shiner, EurekaHedge


The convertible bond market in Asia is not so much in a perfect storm but in a perfect calm; new issues have dried up and there is an overall lack of liquidity in the convertible bond market. However, given the horrible state of the equity markets, it's a good sign that companies aren't issuing converts. If they were, it would be a sign of desperation; such as AMP's recent issue in Australia. Yet, this lack of liquidity and new issuance combined with distressed share prices has implications for some strategies.

Interview with Zaheer Abbas Sitabkhan, Fund Manager of LG Asian Plus Fund

June 2002 | Matt Schmidt, Eurekahedge


Zaheer runs the LG Asian Plus Fund and has been with LGM since 1995. He has been involved in managing the fund since inception and has taken over full responsibility since June 2000. He is a graduate of Case Western Reserve University and has a MBA from Indiana University.

Selling Hedge Funds to the General Public - Australia is Ahead of the Pack

April 2002 | John Hetherington, Eurekahedge


After no-doubt considerable soul-searching, Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) finally published in early May the guidelines which it will follow in determining whether a hedge fund will be authorised for public sale. This determination came eleven months after the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) released its own standards. While there are similarities, the hurdles set by the SFC are much higher.

Hedge Fund Location - it matters

April 2002 | John Hetherington, Eurekahedge


We asked 16 managers, based around the world and overseeing absolute return Asia Pacific strategies, their views of where is the best location to establish a hedge fund. We gave each of them the same 12 questions (reproduced below), which centered on the investment process and capital raising. Their answers were remarkably similar, suggesting that there may be a clear formula which new, and arguably some established, managers should follow.