Funds & Financial Services

Navigating the changing face of the industry

It's not just the banks and insurers facing increased regulatory supervision and tougher enforcement but also trustees, brokers, fund managers, investors, financial planners and credit providers are all feeling the impact of reforms.

Our team has decades of experience advising on all aspects of funds and financial services regulation, including in connection with product development and distribution, AFS licencing and compliance, governance, breach reporting and remediation, fund transaction documentation and regulatory due diligence.

Investments transactional and advisory 

When it comes to funds and investments, we act for ASX 100 financial institutions, family offices, intermediaries, listed and private companies and trusts, managed investment schemes, private equity funds, superannuation funds, asset managers and high net worth individuals.

We think and act globally. Our international clients include offshore and onshore fund managers and foreign financial institutions operating in Australia and utilising digital platforms.

We cover all investment asset classes such as global and Australian equities, alternatives, infrastructure, private equity, direct and indirect property, bonds, fixed interest, cash, custody, derivatives, carbon credits, and digital assets.

We advise on all areas of investment management, exchange traded and over the counter (OTC) derivatives, mergers, acquisitions, investment manager, and investments due diligence.

Product Development and distribution

When our clients develop new financial products, we’re part of the team. We prepare information memoranda, product disclosure statements and advise on disclosure requirements. We’re across distribution agreements and referral models, authorised agreements­­, as well as new non cash payment facilities, ETFs, digital currency and client relationship management.

Fund formation, structuring and due diligence

We advise on the full spectrum of national and international fund structures and establishment models, including registered and unregistered managed investment schemes, limited partnerships, superannuation vehicles and wholesale investment platforms. Our team works with clients to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements while delivering commercially viable solutions tailored to investor needs. If you are establishing or investing in a wholesale fund, feeder fund or fund-of-fund vehicle let us assist you. If you need an AFS licence, we can manage the application process for you.

Compliance and Risk Management

We provide compliance support and risk management services to some of Australia’s largest financial services providers, institutions and broker networks. Clients rely on us to develop and implement their compliance and risk management policies and procedures­­­­­­, including training their people—because we know there’s no margin for error.

If Mandatory Data Breach requirements are taking your time and attention away from other essential tasks, lean on us to prepare your privacy compliance manuals and develop reporting mechanisms.

We have expertise in Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) protocols. If you’re looking to implement the latest amendments to the AML/CTF Act we can provide you advice.  We’re also able to assist with  your AML external audit, updating manuals, or training if you need to add a new designated service.

Breach reporting and regulatory investigations

We conduct compliance audits and regulatory due diligence. If there’s a breach, we’ll handle the reporting and ASIC notices as well as any ASIC hearings. If you have any ASIC or APRA examinations, we can assist you and your staff in preparation and attend with you on the day of the examination.  

Specialist and emerging areas

We are frequently consulted on frontier legal issues affecting the investment and superannuation sectors, from ESG to digital assets. Our team brings a commercial lens to navigating emerging regulatory and market developments. We can assist you in navigating the emerging areas of ESG, impact investing, Australian Carbon Credit Units, digital platform licensing, virtual assets, tokenised funds, and cryptocurrency investment vehicles.

Peter Charteris is a highly respected and experienced legal advisor, specialising in complex income tax, stamp duty and superannuation law. He is known for his keen intellect, attention to detail and strong communication skills.

Peter’s tax work focuses on income tax and stamp duty aspects of indirect inward investment structuring in real estate, investment manager regime, various financial products and private client issues.

His superannuation work covers all legal issues affecting superannuation funds, including regulatory and general law obligations, member communications, key service provider contracts and member disputes.

Peter also provides investment advice to various industry funds and has advised on some of the largest individual transactions in the superannuation industry.

Peter’s income tax and stamp duty clients include large local and overseas property funds, private overseas investors in large commercial properties, domestic fund managers managing overseas funds and private clients. He also acts as general legal adviser to a number of industry superannuation funds (large and small).

Stephen Putnins is a Partner in the Corporate and Commercial practice, with over 20 years’ experience in the commercial and financial services sector at top tier firms and in-house including UniSuper (investments) and at Australian Unity (funds management, banking, insurance and governance). Stephen specialises in superannuation, funds management, investments, and financial services law, with a particular focus on funds and financial services regulation. He regularly advises on major projects, general corporate and operational matters, outsourcing, cross-border transactions, acquisitions and divestments, derivatives, due diligence, governance, disclosure, regulatory and compliance matters, investor and member disputes, and remediation.

Stephen’s extensive regulatory experience includes advising on compliance with financial services regulations such as AML/CTF, the Financial Accountability Regime (FAR, and its predecessor BEAR), reasonable steps frameworks, accountability statements, and product design and distribution obligations. Stephen also assists client in navigating complex regulatory frameworks, and liaising with regulatory bodies including APRA, ASIC, and Austrac. He has significant experience across all asset classes, including Australian and international equities, debt, cash and fixed income, property funds, private equity, and infrastructure, including multiple billion-dollar public-private partnerships (PPPs).

Stephen is a trusted adviser known for his commercial and practical approach, ensuring clients meet regulatory requirements while achieving their business objectives.

With over 48 years’ experience in compliance, risk, and governance, Marianne Robinson brings extensive expertise as both in-house corporate counsel and executive management. She spent 13 years as the managing director of an APRA-regulated insurance company and has worked closely with a number of APRA supervised entities. Her expertise in ADI prudential matters has been recognised by the court when she was called as an expert witness to assist the court on prudential standard issues.

Marianne was the legal adviser for the first AFS licence issued in Australia and has since obtained AFS licences for a range of different entities since then and she has expertise in the non-cash payment facility areas including credit cards and stored value cards. She has worked with the Reserve Bank in relation to the first virtual payment systems, surcharging and payment transaction issues.

Marianne designs and reviews corporate compliance programs, governance frameworks, charters, policies, and codes of conduct. She specialises in assisting boards with balancing compliance and regulatory challenges and reviewing services provided by APRA regulated entities.

Marianne frequently conducts compliance reviews for financial services entities, updating their rules and internal protocols. She also runs remote workshops on topics such as directors’ duties, audit risk compliance, claims management, and emerging threats like data breaches and cyber risks.

She has been an Austrac external auditor and since 2006 she has been advising clients on their AML requirements, designing AML programs and providing AML training. She is currently providing risk management and compliance advice to existing clients in the impact of the Tranche 2 reforms as well as Tranche 1 clients on changes needed to their existing programs.

Marianne develops policies and protocols for conflicts of interest, bribery and corruption, trade sanctions, privacy, AML/CTF, directors’ duties, delegated authority, risk management strategies, and APRA prudential standards across the ADI, life, general, and superannuation sectors.


See our Superannuation Team page for more information.