Australia’s managed fund industry to attract more international investment

The corporate collective investment vehicle (CCIV) is aimed at supercharging international investment into Australia’s fund management industry and accelerate Australia’s $2.5 trillion industry.

It is designed to enhance the international competitiveness of the Australian funds management industry by allowing it to use a structure that is more familiar to overseas investors.

“This initiative will help boost Australia’s share of global funds, more closely matching its strengths as a financial services hub,” special envoy for global business and talent attraction Peter Verwer AO said.

Currently only around 5 per cent of the $2.5 trillion in funds managed in Australia comes from overseas. The CCIV regime is designed to boost this figure, providing economies of scale to both domestic and foreign investors resulting in lower investment costs.

The CCIV regime was a key recommendation of the Australian Financial Centre Forum’s Johnson Report, alongside the Asia Region Funds Passport regime that the government implemented in 2018. By extending the passport to cover CCIVs, the government is maximising the passport’s effectiveness in increasing Australian access to overseas markets.

The CCIV regime was committed in the 2021-22 budget and the government expects it to commence from 1 July 2022.

The legislation also contains a range of measures to improve outcomes for superannuation members in the retirement phase, extend the government’s temporary loss carry-back measure, and an update to the list of deductible gift recipients.