Invitation to Provide Evidence at Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services

Mr Epstein, a founder and executive director of One Investment Group, was recently invited by the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services to provide evidence as part of the committee’s ASIC oversight hearing process.

The hearing took the format of a roundtable comprising two representatives from the following gatekeepers:

  • financial planners and advisers;
  • custodians;
  • research houses;
  • auditors;
  • trustees; and
  • responsible entities.

The focus of the roundtable was on expectation gaps – the difference between what investors and the public expect the gatekeepers will do, what is legally required of them, and what their roles are in practice. The committee was interested not only in how the gatekeepers see their own role and responsibilities, but in how they perceive the roles of other gatekeepers in the financial system.

Mr Epstein was requested to submit a short written statement prior to the hearing outlining your views on the issues. A copy of Mr Epstein’s written statement can be found here.

Other gatekeepers that attended the roundtable were:

  • Mr Royce Brennan, General Manager, Risk, BT Financial Group
  • Ms Eve Brown, Senior Policy Manager, Trustees, Financial Services Council
  • Mr Martin Codina, Director, Policy, Financial Services Council
  • Ms Nerida Cole, Managing Director, Financial Advisory, Dixon Advisory
  • Mr Richard Everringham, General Manager, Strategy and Development, Lonsec Research
  • Mr Amir Ghandar, Policy Adviser, Audit and Assurance, CPA Australia
  • Mr Anthony Graham, Executive Director, Macquarie Group Ltd
  • Mr Pierre Jond, Managing Director, BNP Paribas Securities Services; and Chairman, Australian Custodial Services Association
  • Mr Paul Khoury, Deputy Chairman, Australian Custodial Services Association
  • Mr Graeme McKenzie, Partner, Ernst and Young
  • Mr Anthony Smith, Partner, Ernst and Young
  • Mr Mark Thomas, Chief Executive Officer, van Eyk Research Pty Ltd
  • Ms Karen Volpato, Senior Policy Adviser, Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees

A proof copy of the transcript can be found here.