In December 2009 the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) released a paper titled “Investing between the Flags” as a practical guide to investing for clients. ASIC does not suggest that investing between the flags means investing in only low complexity products. Rather, investing between the flags means that an investor has understood the investment, be it of low, medium or high complexity before investing.

The paper outlines 6 steps that ASIC suggests investors need to take before making an investment. The 6 steps are designed to help an investor minimise any surprises in their investment outcome. Investing between the flags does not eliminate investment risk, but it does allow an investor to know and understand the risks that are present.

The paper can be found using this link

For more information on ASIC’s paper, refer to Appendix 1, and/or the ASIC website.