ASIC to target private credit in new 2026 priorities
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The news: ASIC has announced its new regulatory priorities for the coming year, targeting private credit, financial reporting misconduct, handling of insurance complaints and claims, and misleading pricing, while bolstering its investigation into the collapse of Shield and First Guardian Master Funds.
What they said: ASIC deputy chair Sarah Court said the priority work would continue to protect consumers from financial harm as the regulator makes private credit a key target.
“In line with our increased surveillance across private credit, we won’t hesitate to take enforcement action to stamp out misconduct in the sector so we can support confident and informed participation, investor protection and market integrity,” Court said.
“Reliable financial information remains more important than ever, particularly as entities with unlisted assets, such as super funds and private credit funds, play a bigger role in the economy. In 2026, we will step up enforcement action against financial reporting misconduct," she said.
The regulator has also prioritised its investigation into the collapse of the Shield and First Guardian Master Funds, allocating 40 staff to the work of returning money to investors.
“Those involved extend to financial advisors and their licensees, lead generators, superannuation trustees, auditors, research houses and, at the very heart of the misconduct, the responsible entities of the failed funds themselves,” Court said.
“We already have had some 45 individual court appearances and there remains much work to do.”
The context: ASIC has taken a keen interest in private markets and private credit.
Its new priorities are in addition to ASIC’s existing work on insider trading, vulnerable consumers and predatory lending, unlawful evasion of small business creditors, super trustee accountability, and auditor misconduct.
“'We’re doing more investigations, taking more matters to court and securing record penalties. In the last 12 months, we’ve doubled the number of new investigations and nearly doubled the number of new matters filed in court,” Court said.
The source: ASIC media release
