The private capital investment industry in Australia is more than 25 years
old, and for the duration of that time the Australian Investment Council
has played a leadership role in maintaining a strong and comprehensive
governance framework around the sector.
In conjunction with the statutory obligations set out in the Corporations
Law and various regulatory guidance statements administered by the
Australian Securities & Investments Commission, the Australian
Investment Council requires all of its investor member firms to comply with
the
Code of Private Equity Governance and Conduct, which was most recently updated and approved by the Council’s Board in
May 2017.
Every year, each of the Australian Investment Council’s investor member
firms is required to provide a signed declaration confirming that their
firm maintains policies and procedures to ensure that they comply with the
obligations set out in the Code. This positive periodic confirmation
ensures that participants in our industry maintain an ongoing focus on risk
management and compliance, as well as disclosure and transparency, and
recognises the centrality of these practices to providing world-class
professional investment services to the investors into private capital
funds in Australia.
We encourage all limited partners into private capital funds
in Australia to require their investment firms to be ongoing members of the
Australian Investment Council, and to provide an annual declaration
attesting to their firm’s compliance with the obligations and expectations
set out in the industry-wide Code.