MEDIA RELEASE: Despite recent reports of falls in fund inflows, the number of unlisted financial products registered in the Australian market during the March quarter continued to surge, with product registration levels significantly higher than for the same period in 2021, according to APIR chief executive, Chris Donohoe.

APIR identifies, codes and manages reference data for unlisted financial products. In its 27 years of operation, it has identified over 30,000 individual financial products.

Key highlights from the March quarter include:

• Total year to date product registrations for the 2021/22 financial year are up almost 50 per cent on the same period the previous year at 797
• This trend was reflected in the March 2022 quarter with registrations up more than 33 per cent on the March 2021 quarter to 240
• Rationalisation of superannuation investment options continues but total product terminations are expected to end lower than in the 2020/21 financial year, particularly for managed funds.

Mr Donohoe expects the strong product development to continue in the June 2022 quarter.

“Registrations of traditional managed investment products continue to thrive indicating a healthy level of product development within the industry. This has been partially driven by increased registrations of single asset and mortgage funds which offer investors higher yields in the low interest rate environment.”

Mr Donohoe says that APIR typically sees the highest number of product terminations in the June quarter. However, early indications are termination numbers for the June quarter will be lower than in previous years.

“This is particularly the case for managed funds where, through to the end of the March quarter, product terminations are down almost 50 per cent on the previous year,” he says.

Looking forward to the 2022/23 financial year, Mr Donohoe says it will be interesting to follow whether the industry leverages the opportunities opened by the recently introduced Corporate Collective Investment Vehicle (CCIV) legislation.

“The CCIV structure offers a great opportunity for Australian financial product manufacturers, providing them with an investment vehicle that offshore investors are comfortable with, and resulting in improved harmonisation with offshore jurisdictions.”