Geoff Sanders

About Geoff Sanders

Geoff specialises in superannuation, financial services law and funds management, with a particular focus on investments work and all aspects of superannuation and financial services law and regulation.

He regularly acts for a number of Australia's highest profile superannuation trustees, as well as many leading Australian and international fund managers covering all asset classes.

Geoff’s experience includes:

• advising on a number of Australia's largest and most complex superannuation fund mergers.
• assisting superannuation and other financial services clients on their response to a wide variety of regulatory investigations and prosecutions, including significant APRA and ASIC proceedings.
• assisting superannuation and other institutional investors in relation to their investment-related matters, including extensive experience in relation to infrastructure, private equity, private credit and property investments.
• advising on all aspects of Australian trust law across a variety of different commercial and other applications.
• working with both Australian and foreign fund managers in helping to develop, market, launch and operate both retail and wholesale fund products.

• advising clients in relation to their broader regulatory needs, including superannuation and investment regulatory requirements and the licensing, disclosure and compliance requirements of the Australian financial services regime.

• advising many of Australia's leading superannuation funds and investment managers on major regulatory change projects and day-to-day regulatory advice.

Geoff's superannuation and financial services regulatory experience includes:

• advising on many of the highest-profile successor fund transfers in the superannuation sector over recent years, including mergers between Spirit Super & CareSuper; Aware Super & VicSuper; Hostplus & Maritime Super; Cbus & Media Super; HESTA & Mercy Super; Equipsuper & Catholic Super; and others.
• advising a number of superannuation trustees on their response to ASIC and APRA regulatory investigations and prosecutions.
• assisting AustralianSuper, HESTA, Cbus and others on their response to the section 56 legislative amendments.
• assisting many of Australia's largest profit-for-member superannuation funds on both strategic and day-to-day financial services regulatory and compliance matters, including in relation to ASIC and APRA breach reporting, regulatory disclosure obligations, trust deed amendments, design & distribution obligations, FAR implementation and compliance with Prudential Standards.
• leading on the legal aspects of the establishment of the Superannuation Members Council of Australia, the new peak industry body for not-for-profit superannuation funds in Australia.

Geoff's relevant investments and transactional experience includes advising:

• AustralianSuper, Aware Super, Hostplus, HESTA, CSC, Cbus, Rest and others in respect of their investments in a range of private market fund products, fund-of-one structures, separate account mandates and co-investments across all asset classes.
• AustralianSuper, Aware Super, Hostplus, HESTA, Cbus and others on a wide variety of asset level co-investments alongside private equity, real estate and infrastructure managers.
• ISPT on their merger with IFM, as well as a variety of investments, joint ventures and fundraisings across their real estate portfolio, including the acquisition of the Fort Street Real Estate Capital Fund, the acquisition of management rights in the Charter Hall CIB Fund and joint venture acquisitions of significant development assets.
• Bouwinvest in relation to their investment into a range of Australian real estate assets, including significant build-to-rent projects.
• Victorian Funds Management Corporation on a number of major projects in relation to its investment structures and relationship with the Victorian Government.