MDA Licence authorisation application call
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FROM September 30 new and existing Australian financial services licensees will be able to apply for an AFS licence authorisation to provide managed discretionary account services to retail clients.
Under Australian Securities and Investments Commission policy, existing AFS licensees that provide MDA services must vary their AFS licence no later than December 10.
Applicants will not be able to operate a MDA service after December 10 if they do not have appropriate licence authorisation.
ASIC deputy executive director financial services regulations Pamela McAlister said applicants need to get in early.
"Applicants who lodge their application after November 1 risk not having their MDA authorisation in time," she said.
To provide MDA services both new and existing AFS licensees will need to apply for the following authorisation:
ASIC generally considers an interest in a MDA service to be an interest in a managed investment scheme.
However, under the relief granted in ASIC class order CO04/194, MDA operators are exempted from the managed investment provisions in chapter 5 C of the Corporations Act.