Key Takeaways
- • ASIC issued an interim stop order freezing new investment in the Murdoch Clarke Mortgage Fund, a Tasmania-based private credit fund with $573.2 million in net assets under management at 30 June 2026, according to the regulator's media release.
- • The order targets the fund's product disclosure statement (PDS), which ASIC says fails to disclose related party transactions, adequately set out fees and costs, clearly present risks, or explain withdrawal mechanics.
- • The action is the latest step in ASIC's private credit crackdown, following enforcement against La Trobe Financial, RELI Capital Mortgage and TruePillars Investment Trust in 2025.
- • ASIC may issue a final order if concerns are not promptly addressed; Murdoch Clarke can make submissions before any final decision.
- • ASIC Commissioner Simone Constant said findings from the second private credit surveillance will be published soon, stating that "practices are not where we need them to be."
Summary
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has frozen new investment in the Murdoch Clarke Mortgage Fund, a Tasmanian mortgage fund with more than half a billion dollars in assets, by issuing an interim stop order against the fund's product disclosure statement (PDS). According to the ASIC media release, the order prevents Murdoch Clarke Mortgage Management from offering, issuing, selling or transferring interests in the fund. A PDS sets out a financial product's features, fees and risks for investors.
The fund held $573.2 million in net assets under management at 30 June 2026. It invests mostly in interest-only loans with principal repayable on demand, secured by mortgages over vacant or developed land in Tasmania. ASIC raised four concerns: the PDS does not disclose related party transactions, does not adequately set out fees and costs, provides too little risk information presented unclearly, and does not adequately or prominently explain how withdrawals work.
ASIC Commissioner Simone Constant linked the action to the regulator's wider sector review, noting that findings from the second private credit surveillance will be published soon and that "it's already clear that practices are not where we need them to be." ASIC said it may make a final order if its concerns are not addressed promptly, and Murdoch Clarke may make submissions before any final decision.
The order follows a prolonged regulatory campaign. Mortgage Professional America reported in late 2025 that ASIC's review of 28 private credit funds, conducted between October 2024 and August 2025, found default rates of 0–6 per cent with inconsistent definitions of default, limited disclosure of borrower rates, and fewer than half of funds having detailed credit or impairment policies. In September 2025, ASIC issued interim stop orders against three La Trobe Financial products, all later revoked after La Trobe amended its target market determinations, including cutting the recommended allocation to its US Private Credit Fund from 35 per cent to 10 per cent. RELI Capital Mortgage and TruePillars Investment Trust were also subject to stop orders in the same period.
In June 2026, ASIC issued a private credit valuation warning following an eight-week voluntary survey covering 22 managers, 52 funds and approximately $76 billion in assets under management, stating that "poor practices in private credit remain a 2026 enforcement priority." The Murdoch Clarke order stems from ASIC's surveillance of how private credit funds are distributed to retail clients through direct and advised channels, which also covers fees, margin structures and conflict-of-interest management in wholesale funds.
The fund held $573.2 million in net assets under management at 30 June 2026. It invests mostly in interest-only loans with principal repayable on demand, secured by mortgages over vacant or developed land in Tasmania. ASIC raised four concerns: the PDS does not disclose related party transactions, does not adequately set out fees and costs, provides too little risk information presented unclearly, and does not adequately or prominently explain how withdrawals work.
ASIC Commissioner Simone Constant linked the action to the regulator's wider sector review, noting that findings from the second private credit surveillance will be published soon and that "it's already clear that practices are not where we need them to be." ASIC said it may make a final order if its concerns are not addressed promptly, and Murdoch Clarke may make submissions before any final decision.
The order follows a prolonged regulatory campaign. Mortgage Professional America reported in late 2025 that ASIC's review of 28 private credit funds, conducted between October 2024 and August 2025, found default rates of 0–6 per cent with inconsistent definitions of default, limited disclosure of borrower rates, and fewer than half of funds having detailed credit or impairment policies. In September 2025, ASIC issued interim stop orders against three La Trobe Financial products, all later revoked after La Trobe amended its target market determinations, including cutting the recommended allocation to its US Private Credit Fund from 35 per cent to 10 per cent. RELI Capital Mortgage and TruePillars Investment Trust were also subject to stop orders in the same period.
In June 2026, ASIC issued a private credit valuation warning following an eight-week voluntary survey covering 22 managers, 52 funds and approximately $76 billion in assets under management, stating that "poor practices in private credit remain a 2026 enforcement priority." The Murdoch Clarke order stems from ASIC's surveillance of how private credit funds are distributed to retail clients through direct and advised channels, which also covers fees, margin structures and conflict-of-interest management in wholesale funds.
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