The industry has been working towards a December 1 deadline for licenses for operators such as managed investment schemes, DIMS providers and derivatives issuers under the FMCA.

They must meet new requirements including more prescriptive disclosure documents detailing a wider range of information for investors.

AMP has transitioned 12 of its schemes to the new FMCA regime, which Therese Singleton said had been a two-year project.

She said there were a number of operators, particularly those that were smaller, that would have struggled to get across the line.

With AMP’s older products in particular it had had to do a lot of work to comply with the new requirements, she said, including work to enable it to produce quarterly reports for investors, hone information on pricing and identifying where all the costs of the schemes sat.

“It’s a really complex exercise, smaller players will struggle with that.”

She said those schemes would have to make a decision about what they would do and what would happen to any money invested with them.

A number of standalone employer-run superannuation schemes had made the decision to move into AMP’s master trust because of the FMCA deadline, she said.

“They are local employers who have done the right thing with their superannuation funds for employees but are now required to get an independent trustee and enhanced reporting requirements, it’s just too hard.”

But she said the FMCA was a positive move, to level the playing field and make it easier for investors and advisers to compare products more fairly against each other.

“From an adviser’s perspective even though [the new documents required by the FMCA] are simple documents, they are daunting for mum and dad investors.”

Advisers could use them as tools to look at the fees and costs charged and explain the investment opportunities clearly to clients.

She said the FMCA experience indicated that those going through licensing under the Financial Advisers Act would do well to engage early with the FMA.

She said the regulator had been willing to engage with providers who did so in the right way.

“This is consumer protection legislation so if there’s push back because it’s costly or too hard, that’s not an acceptable way to deal with the issues but if you step back and see what’s trying to be achieved you can work it out between you.”

Investors who had older AMP products and had received little written documentation in the past would notice the change to the new regime in the new year, she said.