ASIC issues DDO stop order against Fidante Partners Limited for TMD deficiencies

Key dates

2026-10-13

ASIC announced the interim stop order against Fidante Partners Limited; the order is stated to remain in force for 21 days unless revoked earlier.

Suggested considerations

• Fidante and relevant distributors should consider immediately suppressing retail issuance, PDS delivery and covered general advice activities within the scope of the stop order, while confirming the order’s operative terms and any revocation or variation.
• Fund issuers should consider conducting a documented TMD review against the product’s actual risks, liquidity and redemption arrangements, including whether capital-preservation language is compatible with exposure to global syndicated loans, asset-backed securities, derivatives and subordinated or residual CLO tranches.
• Compliance teams may wish to test whether stated risk classifications and portfolio-allocation limits are supported by the product’s loss profile, volatility, liquidity and concentration characteristics, with particular attention to any allowance for retail investors to allocate up to 50% of investable assets.
• Distributors should consider reviewing advice files, platform controls, marketing materials and distribution data to determine whether retail clients outside an appropriately defined target market may have received the product or recommendations concerning it.
• Issuers and distributors of comparable private credit products should consider benchmarking TMD descriptions of risk appetite, capital preservation, liquidity and maximum portfolio allocation against ASIC’s concerns in this action and recent private-credit stop orders.
• Compliance teams should consider preserving records of the TMD review, distribution controls, complaints, significant dealings and escalation decisions, and assessing whether changes to the product design, target market or distribution arrangements are necessary under the DDO review framework.

What changed

This is an enforcement intervention rather than a new generally applicable rule. Until the order is revoked or expires, Fidante must not deal in the Class A units, give or distribute a product disclosure statement for the product, or provide general financial product advice to retail clients recommending an investment in it. ASIC’s concerns engage the design and distribution obligations in Part 7.8A of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), including the requirement under section 994B for an issuer to make an appropriate TMD before retail product distribution conduct occurs, the requirement under section 994C to review the TMD, and the requirement under section 994E for distributors to take reasonable steps consistent with the TMD. ASIC’s stop-order power is exercised under the Corporations Act

Who is affected

• Fidante Partners Limited as issuer or responsible entity of the Ares Global Credit Income Fund
• Ares-related investment management and distribution personnel supporting the fund
• Australian financial product distributors, platforms and advisers involved in retail distribution of the Class A units
• Retail clients considering or currently receiving recommendations to invest in the fund
• Australian issuers and distributors of private credit funds with retail target markets

Related regulations

• Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), Part 7.8A Design and Distribution Obligations
• Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), section 994B Target market determinations
• Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), section 994C Review of target market determinations
• Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), section 994E Distributor obligations
• Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), section 1020E ASIC stop-order powers