Re Stacks Managed Investments Ltd

Re Stacks Managed Investments Ltd involved the application to wind up a registered managed investment scheme on just and equitable grounds. The applicant sought orders to appoint liquidators to take responsibility for the winding-up process and to confer on these liquidators powers similar to those of a company liquidator. The scheme was already being wound up pursuant to a members' resolution, but the current responsible entity faced difficulties in obtaining documents from the previous responsible entity. The application sought to facilitate the winding-up process by seeking these orders.

The primary legal issues before the court were whether the proposed liquidators should be appointed and whether their powers should be similar to those of a corporate liquidator. The applicant argued that the difficulties in obtaining necessary documents necessitated the appointment of liquidators with specific powers to manage the winding-up process effectively. The court needed to determine if the Corporations Act provided for such powers and whether they were appropriate for entities winding up a registered scheme.

The court found that the appointment of the proposed liquidators was not necessary. It held that the Corporations Act did not provide for the conferral of corporate liquidator powers on entities winding up a registered scheme. The court emphasised that the act did not contemplate the same level of intervention in the winding-up process of a managed investment scheme as it did for a company. Consequently, the court did not grant the orders sought by the applicant.

No orders were made appointing the proposed liquidators or conferring powers on them similar to those of a company liquidator. The winding-up process continued under the existing members' resolution, with the court's decision affirming the limitations of the powers that could be granted to entities in this context.