Sean Hughes, who is now the Commissioner of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), has resigned from his post and will end his term on 3 February. He will join Vanguard Australia as the General Counsel.

Sean Hughes Resigns as ASIC Commissioner

Hughes joined the Aussie financial market watchdog as a Commissioner in late 2018 with a five-year term. He is stepping down ten months before the expiry of his contract on 3 December 2023.

"We are grateful for the contribution Sean has made to ASIC ASIC The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is the prime regulator in Australia for corporate, markets, financial services, and consumer credit. It is empowered under the financial service laws to facilitate, regulate, and enforce Australian financial laws. The Australian Commission was set up and is administered under the Australian Securities and Investment Commission Act of 2001. ASIC was initially the Australian Securities Commission based on the 1989 ASC Act. Initially, the The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is the prime regulator in Australia for corporate, markets, financial services, and consumer credit. It is empowered under the financial service laws to facilitate, regulate, and enforce Australian financial laws. The Australian Commission was set up and is administered under the Australian Securities and Investment Commission Act of 2001. ASIC was initially the Australian Securities Commission based on the 1989 ASC Act. Initially, the Read this Term in his role as Commissioner and wish him well in the next stage of his career," said Joe Longo, the Chair of ASIC.

It was the third tenure of Hughes at the Aussie regulator. Previously, he worked as a Senior Executive at ASIC between December 2008 and December 2010, and he was the Director of Financial Services between July 1999 and December 2003. He re-joined the regulator at one of the top posts in 2018 from Tabcorp where he was a General Counsel.

In addition, his regulatory experience expands beyond Australia as he was the Chief Executive of New Zealand's Financial Markets Authority for over three years. In the commercial space, he worked with several major financial giants. He was the Chief Risk & Legal Officer at UniSuper, the Head Of Legal at National Australia Bank, and the Group General Manager for Compliance at ANZ.

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From ASIC to Vanguard

Hughes' appointment at Vanguard Australia came only weeks after ASIC slapped a monetary penalty of AU$ 39,960 on the company for "misleading" ESG claims.

Vanguard Australia's Managing Director Daniel Shrimski highlighted that Hughes "brings a significant depth of experience in law, governance, regulation Regulation Like any other industry with a high net worth, the financial services industry is tightly regulated to help curb illicit behavior and manipulation. Each asset class has its own set of protocols put in place to combat their respective forms of abuse.In the foreign exchange space, regulation is assumed by authorities in multiple jurisdictions, though ultimately lacking a binding international order. Who are the Industry’s Leading Regulators?Regulators such as the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority ( Like any other industry with a high net worth, the financial services industry is tightly regulated to help curb illicit behavior and manipulation. Each asset class has its own set of protocols put in place to combat their respective forms of abuse.In the foreign exchange space, regulation is assumed by authorities in multiple jurisdictions, though ultimately lacking a binding international order. Who are the Industry’s Leading Regulators?Regulators such as the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority ( Read this Term, financial services, wealth management, and risk into leading this critical function of the business."

He added: "The strong foundations built by Vanguard's Australian leadership over the past 27 years [have] always been guided by delivering on Vanguard's mission, and with Sean's appointment, we continue to focus on building teams led by strong leaders who will ensure that the business remains aligned with the new and changing needs of our clients into the future, to offer them the best chance of investing success."