Mass marketed investment schemes - a historical overview

What is a mass marketed investment scheme?

The following information is provided in relation to schemes which were widely marketed and entered into in 1998-99 and earlier years. They generally had the following characteristics:

• based on a public offer document (prospectus)
• were often supported by a legal opinion
• promoted to a mass audience
• were often aggressively marketed to participants who had no control over, and very little knowledge of, the internal workings of the arrangements, and
• may rely on common structuring features including
• round robin financing
• limited or non-recourse loans
• participant obligations limited to investment profits.