ASIC moves to deregister 35 managed investment schemes across major fund managers

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission may deregister 35 managed investment schemes two months after publication of a notice in the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette No. A40/26 of Tuesday 6 October 2026, unless it is given acceptable reason not to proceed. The notice, issued under subsection 601PB(2) of the Corporations Act 2001 and dated 2 October 2026, names funds managed by Colonial First State, Schroders, Pendal, DDH, Stewart Investors and Hejaz, among others.

The notice sits in the “Company/scheme deregistrations” section of the gazette, the Commonwealth publication issued by ASIC that carries notices made under the Corporations Act 2001. Under subsection 601PB(2), the regulator may deregister a registered managed investment scheme after giving public notice, and the two-month window is the period in which scheme operators, members and other affected parties can put an acceptable reason to ASIC for the scheme to continue.

The same edition of the gazette records other corporate actions: strike-off action against one incorporated association under section 601CC(3), eight foreign companies under section 601CL(4), three foreign companies already struck off under section 601CL(5), and four changes of company type under subsection 164(3).

What the notice says

ASIC states that it may deregister the schemes listed below two months after publication of the notice, unless given acceptable reason not to proceed. The notice is dated the second day of October 2026 and covers 35 schemes, each identified by name and Australian Registered Scheme Number (ARSN).

The list spans retail and wholesale vehicles, single-strategy funds and an exchange-traded product, and includes several funds whose names indicate they are no longer actively marketed. The largest single block belongs to the Colonial First State group, with 13 schemes.

The 35 schemes named

• ALC ACTIVE INTERNATIONAL EQUITIES FUND — ARSN 669 327 173
• COLONIAL FIRST STATE - FIRSTCHOICE INVESTMENTS - PROPERTY SECURITIES FUND 8 — ARSN 110 772 766
• COLONIAL FIRST STATE - FIRSTCHOICE INVESTMENTS - SPECIALIST FUND — ARSN 123 800 617
• COLONIAL FIRST STATE - FIRSTCHOICE WHOLESALE INVESTMENTS - ALTERNATIVES — ARSN 148 859 063
• COLONIAL FIRST STATE INVESTMENT FUND 196 — ARSN 669 589 771
• COLONIAL FIRST STATE INVESTMENT FUND 201 — ARSN 669 597 513
• COLONIAL FIRST STATE INVESTMENT FUND 202 — ARSN 669 598 261
• COLONIAL FIRST STATE INVESTMENT FUND 203 — ARSN 669 610 039
• COLONIAL FIRST STATE INVESTMENT FUND 256 — ARSN 669 595 779
• COLONIAL FIRST STATE INVESTMENT FUND 37 — ARSN 614 643 364
• COLONIAL FIRST STATE INVESTMENT FUND 95 — ARSN 639 625 022
• COLONIAL FIRST STATE PROPERTY SECURITIES FUND 8 — ARSN 110 772 579
• COLONIAL FIRST STATE SPECIALIST FUND 14 — ARSN 123 801 178
• CUSTOM PORTFOLIO SOLUTIONS - GLOBAL GROWTH FUND — ARSN 608 053 050
• DDH AGGRESSIVE GROWTH FUND — ARSN 099 591 750
• DDH AUSTRALIAN SHARES FUND — ARSN 099 592 186
• DDH BALANCED GROWTH FUND — ARSN 099 592 999
• DDH CASH FUND — ARSN 120 591 933
• DDH CONSERVATIVE GROWTH FUND — ARSN 099 592 560
• DDH FIXED INTEREST FUND — ARSN 120 591 326
• HEJAZ HIGH INNOVATION ACTIVE ETF — ARSN 675 069 379
• HEJAZ PROPERTY FUND (MANAGED FUND) — ARSN 653 783 085
• MILFORD GLOBAL OPPORTUNITIES FUND (AU) — ARSN 652 992 857
• PENDAL GLOBAL SELECT FUND — ARSN 651 789 678
• PERPETUAL DYNAMIC FIXED INCOME FUND — ARSN 147 094 415
• REALINDEX GLOBAL SHARE FUND (SCREENED) — ARSN 604 604 873
• SCHRODER GLOBAL CORPORATE BOND FUND — ARSN 155 686 972
• SCHRODER GLOBAL HIGH YIELD BOND FUND — ARSN 166 502 343
• SCHRODER GLOBAL SUSTAINABLE FUND — ARSN 166 502 129
• SENIOR FLOATING RATE LOAN FUND — ARSN 625 239 143
• STEWART INVESTORS GLOBAL EMERGING MARKETS LEADERS FUND — ARSN 104 184 894
• STEWART INVESTORS GLOBAL EMERGING MARKETS SUSTAINABILITY FUND — ARSN 133 696 465
• STEWART INVESTORS GLOBAL EMERGING MARKETS LEADERS SUSTAINABILITY FUND — ARSN 649 843 096
• STEWART INVESTORS WORLDWIDE LEADERS SUSTAINABILITY FUND — ARSN 649 844 002
• WELLINGTON EMERGING MARKETS EQUITY FUND (AUSTRALIA) — ARSN 133 266 903

Deadline and rights of review

Because the notice was published on 6 October 2026, the two-month period runs to early December 2026, after which deregistration may proceed if no acceptable reason has been lodged. The notice itself sets no other conditions and does not state how objections must be made.

ASIC also reminds readers that persons affected by certain decisions made under the Corporations Act 2001 and other legislation it administers may have rights of review. It points to Regulatory Guide 57, Notification of rights of review (RG57), and Information Sheet INFO 9, ASIC decisions – your rights, available from the ASIC Digest, the ASIC website or the Administrative Law Co-ordinator in the relevant ASIC office.

For investors, the notice is a formal warning rather than a completed wind-up: the schemes remain registered until the two-month period expires, and any member or operator with grounds to object still has that window to act. If deregistration proceeds, the affected vehicles — from Colonial First State and DDH portfolios to Schroder, Pendal, Stewart Investors, Hejaz and Wellington funds — would cease to be registered managed investment schemes, leaving holders to deal with the consequences through the scheme operator.

Source: ASIC Gazette, No. A40/26, 6 October 2026, Company/scheme deregistrations, p. 22 (official reference: a40_26.pdf).