APEC wants feedback on the Asia Region Funds Passport initiative to regulate the cross-border offering of managed funds.

The consultation paper was prepared in cooperation with Australia, New Zealand, Korea, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines.

Submissions close on 11 July 2014.

Potential benefits

When adopted, an operator of an eligible Collective Investment Scheme (CIS) in a passport member economy will be able to offer its CIS interests to investors in other passport member economies, provided the operator complies with the host country's disclosure, distribution and complaint procedure requirements.

The proposals are designed to establish a common set of eligibility criteria for CISs and their operators across passport member countries, to allow multi-jurisdictional offerings. However, the Consultation Paper acknowledges that full recognition is not possible in the initial phase. Until the proposals allow for a commonly accepted offering document (like the UCITS Key Investor Information Document) and mutual recognition of distribution requirements, there will be a limit to how useful the proposed passport will be in practice - other than perhaps for branding purposes.

The range of eligibility criteria includes experience, capital, reputational and size requirements, and certain investment restrictions. We recommend managers who might wish to utilise the passport regime in the future, take this opportunity to influence the eligibility criteria at this early stage.

Timing

The timeline anticipates implementation by 2016. Participating economies will need to implement the arrangements through their national laws.

The information in this article is for informative purposes only and should not be relied on as legal advice. Please contact Chapman Tripp for advice tailored to your situation.