As reported in these pages ASIC has “started investigating the seismic shift of capital from public markets towards private equity”. The Reserve Bank has also expressed a similar concern, a concern about a phenomenon that has been occurring for more than a decade.

ASIC chairman Joe Longo noted that the regulator would seek to assess whether the shift from public to private markets is structural or just cyclical. Structural forces are clearly playing a larger role given the downward direction of listed company numbers.