The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has stopped private A$20 billion asset manager Latrobe Financial Asset Management from raising money through three fixed interest products.
ASIC made interim stop orders against the La Trobe US Private Credit Fund and the 12-month term account and two-year term account products offered under the La Trobe Australian Credit Fund.
The corporate regulator said fundraising was frozen due to deficiencies in the target market determination (TMD) for the two La Trobe Australian Credit products.
ASIC was concerned that the target market for these products suggested an inappropriate level of portfolio allocation, given the risks of the fund and did not include appropriate distribution conditions.
The action against the La Trobe US Private Credit Fund was to protect consumers and retail investors from acquiring a product that may not be suitable for their financial objectives, situation or needs.
“ASIC is taking this action to protect consumers and retail investors from acquiring products that may not be suitable for their financial objectives, situation or needs,” the regulator said in a media release.
ASIC has issued 91 interim stop orders and one final stop order under the design and distribution obligations requiring financial product issuers and distributors to ensure TMDs are clear and appropriately define target markets, accurately reflect risks and features and include appropriate distribution conditions.
This stop order referral arose from ASIC’s retail private credit surveillance related to the opportunities and risks emerging from shifts in public and private capital markets.
La Trobe Financial, a non‑bank lender and asset manager specialising in real estate credit, mortgage lending, fixed interest products, retail and institutional credit funds, manages A$20 billion in assets for more than 120,000 investors.
Founded in 1952 as a family‑owned business, it was purchased in 2022 by private equity giant Brookfield for about A$1.5 billion (US$992 million) from another private equity firm, Blackstone and the O’Neill family.
