The Commerce Commission says its investigation into ING's Diversified Yield and Regular Income Funds is not expected to be completed for at least six months.

It is investigating the promotion, marketing and sale of the funds by ING, ANZ and other parties to ascertain whether there have been any breaches of the Fair Trading Act.

"This means that the investigation will not be concluded prior to the end date given by ING for acceptance of the settlement offer made to investors," the commission says in a statement.

"If, at the conclusion of the investigation, the commission believes that litigation is appropriate, the litigation could realistically take anywhere between a further six months and three years to complete. It is uncertain at this stage whether compensation would be pursued for investors who have not accepted the offer or indeed whether this would be awarded by the Courts if a conviction resulted," said Graham Gill, Commerce Commission's Fair Trading Manager, Auckland.

"We advise investors to take their own legal and financial advice on the merits of the offer before making a decision as to whether to accept the offer," Gill says. Although it is the Commission's normal practice not to comment on investigations that are currently underway, in this case it is in the public interest to provide such information that enable investors to make an informed decision.