After a slow start to the calendar year, robust registrations of financial products during March saw the first quarter of 2023 finish 9 per cent higher than the five-year rolling average for the same period, at 199 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.  

“The growth for the quarter was led by superannuation product registrations which spiked to 53 – up 75 per cent on the rolling five-year average for the period,” Mr Donohoe says.

Other key highlights from the March quarter were: 

• Registrations of managed investment products were up almost 4 per cent on the quarterly average over the past five years, at 131 
• Managed accounts product registrations were in line with the rolling five-year average for the period, at 14
• Terminations for the March 2023 quarter were higher than the previous period at 203, which is in line with the rolling five-year average for the period.

“Overall, despite the turbulent economic and political conditions, we have seen continued growth across our product categories in the March 2023 quarter,” Mr Donohoe says.     

“The trend in registrations of traditional managed investment and managed account products remains, with both matching the five-year rolling average for the quarter.

“Interestingly, much of the quarterly growth can be attributed to some of our clients refreshing superannuation investment options offered on their menus.” 

After a quiet December 2022 quarter for product terminations, APIR saw a significant increase in the number of products archived during the March 2023 quarter.  

Mr Donohoe said that the pickup in archiving was largely expected, as APIR’s Client Services team has been working closely with clients on improving the accuracy and currency of their product suite, including the archiving of investment options that have been terminated.  

“This collaboration is continuing and we are anticipating further product archives in the upcoming quarter.”   

Mr Donohoe said the latest quarterly statistics show that a higher percentage of new managed funds registrations were wholesale products - 45 per cent - compared to 35 per cent for the previous two quarters.

“There was also a significant increase in fund of fund products registered at 22, while after many months of strong registrations closed end funds dropped to 35 during the period, less than half the number registered in the December 2022 quarter. 

“It will be interesting to keep an eye on these emerging trends as product manufacturers continue to respond to the changing domestic and international economic challenges,” Mr Donohoe says. 

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