The House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics will hear from the Reserve Bank of Australia, the major institutional investor Vanguard, as well as representatives of industry superannuation funds, investment adviser firms, and relevant peak bodies on the topic of common ownership and capital concentration at a public hearing on Wednesday, 22 September 2021.
Committee Chair, Mr Tim Wilson MP, said that ‘this will be an opportunity for the committee to discuss the topic of common ownership, capital concentration and the implications for competition with some of the key equity market stakeholders. It will also be our first chance to directly question proxy advisers, in this case the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors, on the subject. The committee hopes to gain a deeper understanding of the issues at hand and how Australia’s experience compares internationally’.
‘Our recent hearings with regulators and Australian and international scholars who are experts on this topic confirmed that there are serious questions about the impact that common ownership can have on competition, and consumers more broadly’, Mr Wilson said.
The full Terms of Reference for the inquiry into common ownership and capital concentration are available on the committee’s website.
Public hearing details
Date: Wednesday, 22 September 2021
Time: 9.30 am to 4.30 pm
A program for the hearing is available on the committee’s website.
Due to health and safety concerns relating to the COVID-19 pandemic, this hearing is not currently scheduled to be open for public attendance. Interested members of the public will be able to view proceedings via the live webcast at aph.gov.au/live.
