FSC updates TMD template

Mike Taylor

Managing Editor/Publisher, Financial Newswire

8 June 2023

The Financial Services Council (FSC) has released an updated approach to the Design and Distribution Obligations (DDO) regime with an updated Target Market Determination (TMD) template.

The updated template comes amid the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) issuing multiple interim stop orders related to faulty TMDs.

Releasing the new template, the FSC said it was building on promoting best regulatory practice across the funds management industry in the interest of consumers and that the template TMD for funds management is available free of charge for FSC members.

Commenting on the move, FSC chief executive, Blake Briggs, said: “The Design and Distribution Obligations (DDO) regime, which commenced in October 2021, represented a transformative change in the way the financial services industry approaches the design and distribution of products to consumers.

“The FSC’s updated TMD template, a key part of the DDO regime, provides an important step up in industry capabilities and compliance, building on the first version that was released in 2021.

Briggs said the FSC had consulted with members and ASIC when developing the new template, with the aim of helping industry address ASIC’s concerns with initial DDO regime compliance.

Changes in the new template would help fund managers address the issues raised by ASIC through DDO enforcement actions and in their recently released Report 762: Design and distribution obligations: Investment products.