Fundamental – Issue five

Welcome to our final edition of Fundamental for 2024. We are now entering the ‘silly season’, which started with Melbourne Cup experts left scratching their heads after a horse that was beaten by a combined 40 lengths in its previous four starts (which is a lot) won the race that stops the nation, and a 78-year old became the first person in 140 years to win non-consecutive US presidential terms. 

It sure has been an interesting year.

On the regulatory front, ASIC has had a particularly busy 2024. In this edition, we touch on the recent decisions in the Vanguard (greenwashing) case and the Harvey Norman/Latitude (misleading and deceptive conduct) case. We are also expecting a penalty to be handed down by the courts in the coming weeks in the Firstmac decision (design and distribution obligations), which we wrote about in the last edition of Fundamental. A decision by the Victorian Court of Appeal threw us all a curve ball when it comes to the potential stamp duty consequences of secondary capital raisings. Jim Koutsokostas, Anthony Bradica and Bradley White provide an update on this recent decision in this edition. 

In early October, members of the HW Funds team attended the Core Property Annual Property Funds Industry Forum, along with many of our friends and clients in the industry. While the higher interest rate environment means 2024 has been challenging for managers, particularly when it comes to raising capital, the consensus was that the worst is behind us and 2025 will see improved conditions and capital flows.

1 November marked the first anniversary of HW Funds, which saw the Hall & Wilcox and McMahon Clarke funds teams join forces. We are delighted to report that HW Funds, as one of the largest funds teams in the country, is continuing to expertly serve clients across the spectrum of their funds needs. 

On behalf of the HW Funds team, we would like to wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season. We hope you get the chance to spend time with your family and friends and we look forward to a bigger and better 2025.