meta_id 3346202

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is proposing to streamline Regulatory Guide 264 Sell-Side Research (RG 264) by reducing it from 42 pages to eight pages through a principles-based approach. This initiative responds to industry feedback received through ASIC's 2025 discussion paper on public and private markets, which identified that existing guidance was overly prescriptive and difficult to apply in practice. Sell-side research is prepared by Australian Financial Services (AFS) licensees, including investment banks and stockbrokers, to assist clients with investment decisions, particularly regarding initial public offerings (IPOs). The proposed revisions aim to remove prescriptive requirements while maintaining ASIC's regulatory expectations around conflict of interest management, research integrity, and analyst independence. The updated guidance will enable greater research analyst participation in the IPO process to facilitate capital raising activity. Under the new framework, AFS licensees will retain obligations to establish effective arrangements for managing conflicts of interest, handling inside information, and preserving research independence, but will have greater flexibility in how they demonstrate compliance. This work forms part of ASIC's broader regulatory simplification agenda. ASIC is seeking stakeholder feedback on whether the proposed guidance is sufficiently clear, reflects industry practice in managing sell-side research risks, and whether any additional clarification would be beneficial. The consultation period runs for four weeks, with submissions due by August 21, 2026, at 5pm Australian Eastern Standard Time. Responses should be sent to markets.consultation@asic.gov.au. The draft updated regulatory guide and a summary of proposed changes are available on ASIC's consultation webpage at CS 59 Proposed updates to RG 264.