Chris Donohoe

As we head into 2026, Australia stands at a pivotal juncture in the evolution of corporate identity standards. The Legal Entity Identifier (LEI), a tool conceived in the aftermath of the global financial crisis to shine a light on previously opaque financial markets, is no longer a niche regulatory requirement but is a core piece of financial infrastructure.

The LEI’s core purpose is simple but powerful – it uniquely identifies legal entities in a standardised, globally recognised format, capturing not just the entity’s name and registration details but also its ownership hierarchy, answering the critical questions of “who is who” and “who owns whom.” This capability is essential for risk oversight, counterparty identification, and the kind of data integrity that modern markets demand in Australia and globally.

Its value now extends well beyond compliance, supporting clearer data, more efficient operations and stronger connections between Australian markets and the rest of the world.

The LEI is set to play a central role in Australia’s financial ecosystem, but there are still questions around how broadly and effectively it will be embraced across both mandated and voluntary use-cases.

Rather than viewing it solely through a regulatory lens, there is an opportunity to position the LEI as a foundational identifier across a myriad of functions including payments, onboarding, risk management and digital identity frameworks.

Regulatory harmonisation milestones

ASIC has mandated the use of LEIs in over-the-counter (OTC) derivative transactions in Australia since October 2024. At the time this was a major step towards global regulatory harmonisation and the change brought Australia into alignment with the European Union, United States and United Kingdom frameworks.

That alignment matters. Markets are global, capital is mobile, and regulatory systems that speak different “languages” create avoidable friction. By standardising around the LEI for critical transaction reporting, Australia has acknowledged that greater interoperability strengthens both our transparency and cross-border competitiveness.

Growth and adoption – momentum is building

This shift is clearly reflected in industry behaviour. LEI uptake has accelerated markedly, with APIR Systems alone recently exceeding 12,000 LEIs across Australian entities and their international subsidiaries. This reflects not only compliance with regulatory mandates but also increasing recognition of the LEI as a strategic identifier for business operations.

Importantly, this growth is not confined to large financial institutions. In Australia, small and medium enterprises, including self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs) and investment managers, have been impacted by the LEI regulatory trigger that mandates its use, as have trusts and some non-financial entities that are subject to trade reporting requirements.

However, there is still work to be done to ensure there widespread understanding and adoption of the LEI framework across enterprises that may not yet appreciate its relevance to their business activities.

Mandating the LEI annual renewal is a crucial next step that needs to be adopted by both global and Australian regulatory authorities to ensure that information remains up to date, accurate, and achieves the purposes envisaged by the G20 and the Financial Stability Board (FSB). Not doing so risks seeing Australia’s strides in global regulatory harmony slipping backwards.

Looking ahead – unlocking value

While mandates in derivative reporting were a necessary catalyst, the true potential of the LEI extends well beyond this. The Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (GLEIF), which oversees the LEI system globally, has identified expanding use-cases such as cross-border payments, anti-money-laundering checks, know your customer (KYC) processes, and digital identity verification. These are not distant possibilities but are initiatives already being piloted or discussed, and in some cases already introduced, in jurisdictions around the world.

For Australia, the hope is that 2026 is the year we move from complying with LEI requirements, to driving strategic adoption. The benefits are multiple and include:

• Improved transparency and trust: A universal identifier strengthens confidence in market participants and supports more effective risk monitoring
• Operational efficiencies: Standardised entity identifiers reduce discrepancies in data reporting, reconciliation and administrative processes
• Improved digital identity infrastructure: As businesses and regulators invest in digital transformation, the LEI offers a global and a trusted reference point for entity authentication across private and public sectors.

Challenges worth addressing

Despite these opportunities, hurdles remain.

One clear area for improvement is LEI renewal and the ongoing maintenance of LEI records. Without consistent renewal, even the most robust identifier framework risks losing its effectiveness. A stronger focus from regulators on renewal is needed to help ensure LEI data remains current, reliable and fit for purpose. Without this, the progress Australia has made toward global regulatory consistency may stall, and it could weaken the very transparency the LEI is designed to deliver.

Encouraging stronger renewal practices, either through regulatory reinforcement or industry education, must be a priority.

Additionally, we should be wary of siloed thinking. Too often, the LEI is treated as a compliance obligation rather than a foundational asset. Broader industry engagement, particularly among corporate entities that are not traditionally embedded in regulated financial markets, will help the LEI reach its full potential as a global identifier.

My hope for 2026 is that the LEI begins to evolve from a regulatory checkbox into a strategic business standard with Australia taking the opportunity to be a leading proponent of the regime

In a world increasingly driven by data, the LEI stands out as a global standard with genuine impact. Maintaining the momentum achieved globally and in Australia with LEI adoption is critical to building financial markets that are more transparent, resilient and globally connected.

By Chris Donohoe, CEO

Chris Donohoe

There were 445 new financial product registrations in the first half of the 2025-26 financial year according to APIR chief executive, Chris Donohoe.

APIR identifies, codes and manages reference data for unlisted financial products. In its 30 years of operation, APIR has identified over 33,000 individual financial products.

Key highlights from July – December 2025 data include:

• Managed investment products (MIPs) and managed accounts continue to be the industry’s dominant product choice making up 93 per cent of registrations during the six months.
• MIP registrations at 366 finished in line with the rolling 5-year average.
• Managed accounts (SMA models) registrations at 46 were consistent, also finishing in line with the rolling 5-year average.
• The number of products archived, at 259, was the lowest for many years and 33 per cent below the 5-year rolling average.
• There were 15 new participants (i.e. product issuers such as responsible entities and trustees) registered in the six months.

“The data further shows that the increase in registrations of wholesale products, at 219, continued strongly during the period, at almost 30 per cent up on the 5-year rolling average.  Additionally, after several years of expansion of income focussed products, there was a significant increase in funds registered focussing on growth only.

“While there has been significant media focus on the launch of new Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), Donohoe says that it is undeniable that traditional unlisted managed fund remains the dominant vehicle for manufacturers taking products to market.”

Donohoe expects the consistent level of product and participant registrations will continue for the remainder of the financial year.

Chris Donohoe

For the fourth consecutive year, alternative products were the most popular type of managed investment product registered in the past financial year, according to APIR, accounting for over half of new registrations.

APIR identifies, codes and manages reference data for unlisted financial products. In its 30 years of operation, it has identified almost 33,000 individual financial products.  Overall, registrations of managed investment products for the financial year ending 30 June 2025 were up 18.8 per cent on the five-year rolling average, at 719.

According to APIR chief executive, Chris Donohoe, products identifying as alternatives accounted for 51.60 per cent of the new registrations. The alternatives category covers a broad range of asset types and registrations predominately comprised of mortgage, single asset property and private equity funds.

“Additionally, equity funds accounted for 25.03 per cent of new registrations, which is in line with the previous two years, while fixed income came in at 13.91 per cent. Cash/cash equivalent made up 9.46 per cent of new registrations, having almost doubled over the last four years.

“The majority of new registrations – 82.61 per cent – stated the investment objective as income and growth or income only, which is marginally down on last year, and growth only funds made up 17.39 percent.  This ties in with a fall in the number of funds distributing monthly or quarterly which fell from 65.14 per cent in FY24 to 56.33 per cent in FY25.”

Mr Donohoe also said that after a couple of years where there has been a domestic focus for new managed investment products, the trend has returned to more normal levels.

“In FY23 (61.80 per cent) and FY24 (57.84 per cent) there was a material increase in the number of registrations which had a domestic geographical focus. However, this normalised in FY25 with 50.35 per cent of new products classified as having a domestic geographical focus while 39.08 per cent had a global (including Australia) focus and 10.57 per cent had an international (excluding Australia) focus.

“In recent years there has been a strong increase in registrations in wholesale products and this continued in FY25, with 54.94 per cent of products identified as wholesale products.  For the first time, this was ahead of retail funds (42.42 per cent) and only 2.64 per cent of new registrations for institutional funds,” Mr Donohoe said.

Chris Donohoe

Managed fund product registrations in the year ending 30 June 2025 continued to thrive, almost matching last year’s record levels and continuing the trend of recent years, according to APIR Systems (APIR).

There were 719 managed fund registrations in the 2025 financial year according to APIR chief executive, Chris Donohoe, and while overall product registrations were down slightly from last year at 844, they ended the financial year up 7.4 per cent above the rolling 5-year average level.

APIR identifies, codes and manages reference data for unlisted financial products. In its 30 years of operation, APIR has identified almost 33,000 individual financial products. 

Key highlights from 2024-25 data include:

• Managed investment products (MIPs) continue to be the industry’s dominant product choice making up 85.2 per cent of registrations during 2024-25.
• MIP registrations in 2024-25 finished 18.9 per cent above the rolling 5-year average.
• Managed accounts (SMA model) registrations were again strong, at 25.7 per cent above the rolling 5-year average.  
• The slowdown in archiving of superannuation investment options during 2024-25 (85.7 per cent below the rolling 5-year average) suggests that the major rationalisation of options has now been completed. 
• There were 41 new participants (i.e. product issuers such as Responsible Entities and Trustees) register in 2023-24, a net increase of almost 10 per cent on the prior year.

Mr Donohoe says that the results are particularly strong given the market volatility created by recent global geopolitical uncertainty.

Looking ahead to 2025-26, Mr Donohoe expects that continued product innovation will be reflected in strong registrations.

“We have seen consistently higher levels of registrations, particularly of managed investment and managed account products, for several years now. The data reflects a normalisation of industry activity post the uncertainties created by Covid,” Mr Donohoe said.   

]]>

Chris Donohoe

Managed fund product registrations in the year ending 30 June 2025 continued to thrive, almost matching last year’s record levels and continuing the trend of recent years, according to APIR Systems (APIR).

There were 719 managed fund registrations in the 2025 financial year according to APIR chief executive, Chris Donohoe, and while overall product registrations were down slightly from last year at 844, they ended the financial year up 7.4 per cent above the rolling 5-year average level.

APIR identifies, codes and manages reference data for unlisted financial products. In its 30 years of operation, APIR has identified almost 33,000 individual financial products. 

Key highlights from 2024-25 data include:

• Managed investment products (MIPs) continue to be the industry’s dominant product choice making up 85.2 per cent of registrations during 2024-25.
• MIP registrations in 2024-25 finished 18.9 per cent above the rolling 5-year average.
• Managed accounts (SMA model) registrations were again strong, at 25.7 per cent above the rolling 5-year average.  
• The slowdown in archiving of superannuation investment options during 2024-25 (85.7 per cent below the rolling 5-year average) suggests that the major rationalisation of options has now been completed. 
• There were 41 new participants (i.e. product issuers such as Responsible Entities and Trustees) register in 2023-24, a net increase of almost 10 per cent on the prior year.

Mr Donohoe says that the results are particularly strong given the market volatility created by recent global geopolitical uncertainty.

Looking ahead to 2025-26, Mr Donohoe expects that continued product innovation will be reflected in strong registrations.

“We have seen consistently higher levels of registrations, particularly of managed investment and managed account products, for several years now. The data reflects a normalisation of industry activity post the uncertainties created by Covid,” Mr Donohoe said.   

The post Managed fund registrations continue to flourish in 2024-25 appeared first on AdviserVoice.

Chris Donohoe

APIR Systems Limited, Australia’s leading provider of financial product and legal entity identifiers, recently surpassed the administration of over 10,000 Legal Entity Identifiers (LEIs) on behalf of their clients.

LEIs were created by the G20 to assist with financial transparency following the global financial crisis. The LEI captures not only key corporate information about a legal entity, but also details any direct and ultimate parent entities. It essentially unveils ‘who is who’ and ‘who owns what’ and so is a crucial identifier that helps regulators better oversee financial markets and monitor financial stability.

“While we have been providing LEI services since 2015, the growth has been exponential over the last 18 months mainly in response to the introduction of new transaction reporting rules by ASIC in October 2024,” Mr Donohoe says.

“The LEI’s adoption in over-the-counter (OTC) derivative transactions better aligns Australia’s regulatory system with regulation frameworks in the EU, US and UK. The move brings Australia in line with other jurisdictions and is another step towards a long-held goal of global regulatory harmonisation.

“APIR has worked closely with many of Australia’s largest financial institutions, including our existing wealth management customers, to deliver bespoke tailored solutions to assist them meet their regulatory obligations in an efficient and cost-effective way. Pleasingly customers have recognised the benefits of using a domestic provider including operating in the same time-zone, higher level of customer service and billing in the same currency.”

Looking ahead, Mr Donohoe points to Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation’s (GLEIF) stated objective to increase LEI adoption outside of mandated use-cases within financial markets.  

“The role of LEIs is expected to expand even further into areas such as cross-border payments, Anti-Money Laundering and Know Your Customer processes, and digital identity verification,” Mr Donohoe says.

Chris Donohoe

Registrations of new financial products continued in the December 2024 quarter, led by managed accounts which have continued their strong growth trajectory, with the number of active SMA products doubling in the past three years, according to APIR Systems.

APIR chief executive, Chris Donohoe, says there were 25 managed accounts product registrations in the December quarter, which is 66 per cent higher than the rolling five-year average for the period.

“In total there was 197 financial products registered in the 2024 December quarter, which is in line with the five-year rolling average for that period. This indicates a strong and consistent trend of new product issuance by the industry,” Mr Donohoe said. 

“The data builds on the solid start to the 2024-25 financial year, with strong registrations also seen in the September quarter,” Mr Donohoe said.

“Another key highlight from the December quarter was seven new participants registered to use the APIR coding regime during the period, in line with the quarterly average.

“Terminations for the December 2024 quarter at 192 were up 20 per cent on the rolling five-year average for the period.”

While product terminations were above the five-year rolling average, Mr Donohoe said this was driven by the undertaking of several joint data quality projects to cleanse and clean up APIR customers’ legacy products.

“We’ve been working closely with our customer base to streamline their product offerings and, by being proactive, we keep our data relevant,” Mr Donohoe said.

“While overall registrations for the December quarter are in line with the five-year rolling average, it is again managed accounts which continue to see exponential growth, a trend that has seen the number of active products double over the last three years..     

“This growth in SMA products demonstrates the continued evolution of the managed accounts and how the industry is leveraging off the significant benefits of the APIR coding regime.

“APIR Systems’ strategy is to stay ahead of the curve in relation to industry developments. We’re keeping a keen eye on how global and domestic geopolitical factors, coupled with advancements in artificial intelligence, shape product development, “Mr Donohoe said.

APIR identifies, codes and manages reference data for unlisted financial products. In its 30 years of operation, it has identified over 30,000 individual financial products.  

Chris Donohoe

The registration of 257 financial products in the 2024 September quarter was in line with the five-year rolling average for that period and indicates a healthy investment industry, according to APIR chief executive Chris Donohoe. 

APIR identifies, codes and manages reference data for unlisted financial products. In its 30 years of operation, it has identified over 30,000 individual financial products.  

“The data indicates a solid start to the 2024-25 financial year, with the September quarter having the highest average number of product registrations across the four quarters,” Mr Donohoe said.

Key highlights from the September quarter were: 

• Registrations of managed investment products at 193 were up almost 9.7 per cent on the quarterly average over the past five years
• Managed accounts product registrations at 49 were 82 per cent higher than the rolling five-year average for the period
• Registration of superannuation products were considerably lower than the rolling five-year average for the period, at 15
• 16 new participants registered to use the APIR coding regime during the period, almost double the quarterly average
• Terminations for the September 2024 quarter at 65 were down significantly on the rolling five-year average for the period

“While registrations for the September quarter are in line with the five-year rolling average, it is positive to see a significant overall increase in the number of active products being used by the industry given a slowdown in product terminations,” Mr Donohoe said.     

“The September quarter data suggests the industry continues to develop new products and leverage the significant benefits of the APIR coding regime.”

The latest quarterly statistics also reveal the trend of the last 18 months of growth in wholesale managed funds registrations continued – with 57 per cent identifying as wholesale funds.

Additionally, there was a rise in the number of funds with a growth-only investment objective registered in the quarter at 41, making up 21 per cent – up from 14 per cent in 2023-24 and 16 per cent in 2022-23. 

“With the economic outlook for inflation and interest rates having changed significantly over the past two years, it will be interesting to track these emerging trends as product manufacturers respond to the changing environment,” Mr Donohoe said. 

Chris Donohoe

As the 21 October deadline looms for compulsory use of Legal Entity Identifiers (LEIs) in over-the-counter (OTC) derivate transaction reporting, Australia has missed an opportunity to unlock the additional value of the LEI by not requiring the annual renewal of these identifiers, according to Chris Donohoe, CEO, APIR.

The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) has worked closely with a broad range of stakeholders to harmonise transaction reporting regulations with international standards. From 21 October 2024 all entities that undertake over-the-counter (OTC) derivative transactions will be required to provide a LEI in order to trade and comply with ASIC Derivative Transaction Rules (Reporting) 2024. Up until now, ASIC has allowed entities to use AVIDs or Bank Identification Codes (BIC)when reporting to the regional derivative reporting repository.

“The October 21 deadline brings Australia in line with other jurisdictions and achieves a long-held goal of global regulatory harmonisation. The LEI’s adoption in OTC derivative transactions will better align Australia’s regulatory system with regulation frameworks in the EU, US and UK,” said Mr Donohoe.

“However, the true value of the LEI will only be unlocked when the LEI and it associated data is verified on an annual basis, as is intended under the Global Legal Identifier Foundation (GLEIF) rules. This would maintain the integrity of the system and meet the objectives set by the G20 and the Financial Stability Board when the LEI regime was created,” he said.

“It does question whether the value of Australia’s OTC reporting regime has been diminished by non-compulsory renewal.  Australia’s ‘lapse rate’ – the percentage of LEIs that have not been renewed –as at June 2024 was approximately 47% which does not compare favourably to the global lapse rate of 41% or world leading countries such as India which has a lapse rate of 15%,” Mr Donohoe said.

The LEI is a structured 20-digit alphanumerical code working much like an ABN; it identifies legally distinct entities engaged in financial transactions and the entity’s ownership structure. The LEI requirement was agreed on by the G20 in response to the GFC. The LEI later formed part of the European Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II) reporting regime.

The LEI captures not only the entities participating in the transaction, but also the details of any parent entities and ultimate parent ownership. It unveils, ‘who is who’ and ‘who owns what’ and so is a crucial identifier that will enable regulators to better oversee financial markets and monitor financial stability.

“It is encouraging to see a range of global initiatives leveraging off the potential identity and integrity power of the LEI regime. Many of these initiatives are outside the traditional LEI use cases, however the various regulators need to consider LEI renewal requirements to ensure that these initiatives deliver their intended objectives,” said Mr Donohoe.

According to the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (GLEIF), the future of LEIs lies in their universal application across public and private sectors, with relevance to small and large organisations to bring greater trust, efficiency and transparency to global trade of all kinds and across cross-border payments, supply chain, digital organisational identity, and in sustainability and environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting.

“We’ve seen further adoption of the LEI in global jurisdictions to boost transparency and trust. This includes

• The recommended adoption of the LEI by the G20 in their Roadmap for Enhancing Cross-border Payments. In the UK, the Bank of England has championed the use of LEIs in cross-border payments and stressed that financial crime checks could be simplified by using LEIs as a reference to access due diligence information;
• US Customs and Border Protection evaluating the use of the LEI to assist with data exchange and credential verification across e-commerce, food safety and natural gas industries; and
• In India we’ve seen expanded use of the LEI within other financial transaction such as corporate borrowing.

Mr Donohoe concludes: “It is essential that Australian regulators and industry participants understand and, where appropriate, embrace such global initiatives to further enhance transparency, trust and interoperability.”

Chris Donohoe

APIR Systems (APIR) says a record number of new managed funds drove a high level of product registrations in the year ending 30 June 2024 and growth is likely to remain strong.

According to APIR chief executive, Chris Donohoe, while overall product registrations were steady from last year, they ended the financial year at 15.7 per cent above the rolling 5-year average level.

“We have seen consistently higher levels of managed investment products registered for several years now, with 737 new registrations in 2023-24.  This data suggests the industry continues to develop new products and leverage the benefits of the APIR coding regime,” Mr Donohoe said.

APIR identifies, codes and manages reference data for unlisted financial products. In its 30 years of operation, APIR has identified over 30,000 individual financial products.

Key highlights from 2023-24 data include:

• Managed investment products (MIPs) continue to be the industry’s dominant product choice making up 85.3 per cent of total 2023-24 registrations.
• MIP registrations in 2023-24 finished 28.6 per cent above the rolling 5-year average.
• Managed accounts (SMA model) registrations were again strong being 28.2 per cent above the rolling 5-year average.
• There was a noticeable slowdown in the rationalisation of superannuation investment options during 2023-24.
• There were 39 new participant (i.e. product issuers such as Responsible Entities and Trustees) registrations in 2023-24, driving a net increase of 7.7 per cent on the prior year.

Meanwhile, after several years of rationalisation of superannuation investment options, product termination numbers for 2023-24 were significantly down on both the prior year, (66.5 per cent) and the rolling 5-year average (29.4 per cent).

“This reflects the superannuation industry’s relative stability after several years of mergers and acquisitions within retail super,” said Mr Donohoe.

Looking ahead to 2024-25, Mr Donohoe expects continued innovation as product issuers try to differentiate themselves from peers, noting that Corporate Collective Investment Vehicles (CCIVs) are likely to be adopted over the coming 12-18 months.

Further analysis on key attributes of APIR’s managed investment product registration data will be released in coming weeks.

Chris Donohoe

Registrations of financial products in the March quarter of 2024 finished in line with the five-year rolling average for the same period, at 184 product registrations, according to APIR chief executive, Chris Donohoe. 

APIR identifies, codes and manages reference data for unlisted financial products. In its 30 years of operation, it has identified over 30,000 individual financial products.  

Key highlights from the March quarter were: 

• Registrations of managed investment products were up almost 15 per cent on the quarterly average over the past five years, at 156. 
• Managed accounts product registrations were up 39 per cent on the rolling five-year average for the period, at 18.
• There were no registration of superannuation products during the period.
• Terminations for the March 2024 quarter were down 75 per cent on the rolling five-year average for the period at 51, and remain significantly down year to date from last year.

“Our recent observations about the strength in new registrations of traditional managed fund products continues to play out, with 531 registrations year to date which is 15 per cent up on the five year rolling average,” Mr Donohoe says.

“Additionally, we saw a sharp jump in the number of wholesale funds in the quarter, making up 55 per cent of new registrations. Also of interest was that 43 fund of fund products were registered, which is far and away a record for any quarter.” 

Mr Donohoe noted that after several years of extremely high levels of rationalisation within superannuation products, particularly investment options, terminations have reduced significantly with only 114 having been archived in the year to date.

“Product manufacturers have proven to be incredibly resilient over the past four-to-five years despite the pandemic, slower economic growth and higher interest rate environment. Recent geo-political events will also challenge global markets and  present opportunities to the industry,” Mr Donohoe says.