Regulator says protecting and enhancing its integrity remains a priority focus
Australia’s equity markets continue to operate with a high level of integrity and remain among the cleanest in the world, according to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
“Clean financial markets are essential for the financial wellbeing of Australians and fundamental to an efficient economy,” said ASIC chair Joe Longo (pictured above). “They enable business to raise capital and manage risk and give investors confidence to invest.
“Protecting and enhancing the integrity of Australia’s equity markets continues to be a priority focus for ASIC.”
ASIC’s equity market cleanliness snapshot report covered the five-year period up to April 30, 2024 and identified two periods of temporary deterioration in market cleanliness: during the COVID-19 pandemic and again in late 2023. Both instances were marked by high market volatility and increased corporate activity, prompting ASIC to act swiftly to address harmful conduct.
The commission’s regulatory interventions included targeting pump-and-dump activity, intervening in chat rooms, reviewing ‘finfluencer’ activity, and conducting targeted reviews where leaks ahead of market announcements were observed.
To protect market integrity, ASIC said it employs a combination of real-time trade surveillance data, analytical tools, and human expertise to identify potential misconduct. In addition, ASIC is establishing a dedicated criminal investigation team to expedite insider trading investigations and increase the number of criminal briefs referred to the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions.
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In the 2024 financial year, ASIC nearly doubled the number of new insider trading investigations compared to the previous year.
“We will continue to invest in data and technology to hunt and detect all forms of market misconduct,” Longo said. “As our financial landscape evolves, we will expand our market cleanliness work to capture private markets and products in the coming year.”
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