UC Invest has been providing an investment service to the Uniting Church community since 1977.
The products and services, and the way UC Invest delivers them is governed by the Presbytery and Synod of the Uniting Church SA, whilst being regulated by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) and the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC). UC Invest is what the government regulators call a 'Religious Charitable Development Fund' (RCDF). Are the acronyms confusing you yet?
ASIC and APRA regulations have remained virtually unchanged for the past 20 years.
However, over the past two years or so, APRA and ASIC have both been reviewing their RCDF conditions, and have provided forums to receive feedback on their discussion papers. UC Invest has fully participated in the processes, and has been keen for the Regulators to allow UC Invest to continue to operate without major changes to its operations or its product offerings.
That being said, ASIC and APRA are going through the final stages to making changes which are likely to impact on our business model, and which may impact our capacity to further the Uniting Church's mission in South Australia and beyond.
The proposed new regulations are general in nature and therefore do not take into consideration the financial capacity of the individual religious organisations.
APRA and ASIC have allowed transition time to implement any changes.
During this transition time, the Uniting Church Investment Committee will review our product mix, to ensure we serve our clients, and continue to provide benefits to our Church's community.
What does all this mean for you?
Firstly, nothing immediately. Existing clients' accounts can continue as usual for the rest of the year and for the whole of 2017.
When APRA and ASIC confirm their changes to the regulations, we will then let you know of any changes which will affect your investments with us in the future, and will keep you up-to-date with any business model changes we intend to make.
UC Invest continues to be a vital activity of the Uniting Church in SA. You, our clients, have helped finance millions of dollars of projects and mission activities of the Church since 1977 through your support. The Uniting Church in SA will always put the security of your investments as its highest priority and consider it a privilege that you invest your hard earned funds with us.
We promise to keep you fully informed of regulation changes as they are confirmed and what this will mean for you and us. However, in the meantime, if you have concerns or questions, please contact us on 1300 274 151.