Super funds urge regulatory sandbox on digital | Australian Markets

Superannuation funds have really useful to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) that it offers with a regulatory sandbox to check “innovative approaches” to creating digital disclosures.

The advice has come by way of the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) who’ve responded to an ASIC session round digital disclosures by arguing that funds ought to be given flexibility to check new approaches.

Among the modern approaches ASFA has recommended is the use of visible representations and modular disclosures.

“ASIC should consider the creation of a regulatory sandbox for innovative approaches to digital disclosures, so that regulated entities have an avenue through which they can test a potential approach with ASIC directly before going to the market at large,” the ASFA submission mentioned.

It recommended this could enable the regulator to make clear if an strategy met regulatory expectations.

The submission mentioned that even when an enlargement of the sandbox is just not adopted by ASIC, the regulator ought to take into account establishing a direct hotline or different pathway for regulated entities to have the ability to check new concepts in respect of digital disclosures with ASIC previous to going to the market at massive.

“This would allow innovative solutions which can assist members with varying members of financial literacy to be tested without regulatory risk,” it mentioned.

ASFA recommended that ASIC might obtain this by increasing the Enhanced Regulatory Sandbox which it launched in September, 2020.

Outlining what it sees an modern approaches, ASFA outlined the next:

• Visual representations – together with photos, illustrations, infographics and so forth moderately than simply phrases, noting superannuation is obtainable to each Australian employee, throughout a broad spectrum of financial literacy ranges, and modern options like this will help in maximising accessibility;
• Provision of disclosures in modular methods, in order that the target market doesn’t get overwhelmed by receiving an excessive amount of data directly;
• How to best facilitate the use of applied sciences which permit for personalisation, so as to encourage engagement with the data being disclosed.