Asia Region Funds Passport
Overview of the Asia Region Funds Passport
The Memorandum of Cooperation on the Establishment and Implementation of the Asia Region Funds Passport (Memorandum of Cooperation) is a multilateral agreement that aims to facilitate cross-border distribution of managed fund products across the Asia region. The agreement allows collective investment products offered in one participating economy to be sold to investors in another participating economy.
The Asia Region Funds Passport supports the development of an Asia-wide investment management sector through improved market access and regulatory harmonisation.
The following countries have signed the Memorandum of Cooperation:
- Australia
- New Zealand
- Japan
- Korea
- Thailand
Some of the key objectives for the Asia Region Funds Passport include:
- ensuring investors receive the benefits of increased competition (e.g. lower fees and greater fund choice)
- providing a high degree of investor protection to promote informed and confident investors, by ensuring high standards for the operation and offer of passport funds
- strengthening the capacity and competitiveness of the region's investment management sector
- deepening the region's financial markets by improving liquidity and access to finance
- ensuring economies can continue to maintain financial system stability and efficiency.
The Asia Region Funds Passport has been implemented in Australia through amendments to the Corporations Act and the Corporations (Passport) Rules 2018 (the Australian Passport Rules).
Key aspects of the Asia Region Funds Passport include:
- a passport fund must be a regulated ‘collective investment scheme’ (i.e. in Australia, an Australian passport fund needs to be a registered managed investment scheme (registered scheme))
- the operator must be an eligible entity, including having officers with the relevant qualifications and meeting a financial resources test, organisational arrangements test, track record test and good standing test
- once registered, an Australian passport fund must comply with the Australian Passport Rules
For information on how to register an Australian passport fund or become a notified passport fund see:
Further information
- Corporations (Passport) Rules 2018
- Memorandum of Cooperation
- RG 131 Funds management: Establishing and registering a fund
- RG 132 Funds management: Compliance and oversight
- RG 133 Funds management and custodial services: Holding assets
- RG 134 Funds management: Constitutions
- RG 136 Funds management: Discretionary powers
- RG 138 Foreign passport funds
- RG 181 Licensing: Managing conflicts of interest
- RG 259 Risk management systems of responsible entities