ASIC reissues PS 184 (Superannuation: Delivery of product disclosure strategies)

ASIC has reissued Policy Statement 184 Superannuation: Delivery of product disclosure strategies (PS 184) which deals with how superannuation trustees (trustees) can comply with section 1012IA of the Corporations Act and deliver product disclosure information about investment strategies to members. PS 184 was originally issued in August 2006.

The main refinement to PS 184 allows a trustee to include information about an investment strategy with a specifically identified financial product to be contained in the same Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) for the superannuation product itself. This means that trustees now have three options for providing disclosure about investment strategies with specifically identified financial products (accessible financial products) to members, by:

• preparing the information themselves in an accessible product PDS for one or more accessible financial products (Option 1), or
• preparing the information themselves in an integrated PDS that combines information about the superannuation product with information about one or more accessible financial products in the one PDS (Option 2); or
• giving a member an accessible product PDS prepared by the issuer of the particular accessible financial product (Option 3).

All new trustees will need to comply with the new transition period rules from 1 July 2007. However, all current trustees will need to comply when they next issue a new complete PDS after 1 July 2007 for the superannuation product or 1 July 2008, whichever is the earlier. The amended transition period will allow trustees to comply with s1012IA and take into account the compliance options offered.