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Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013

Dealing in financial products on markets - Purposes, overview, and interpretation - Material information and generally available to the market

231: Meaning of material information

You could also call this:

"What 'material information' means: important details that could change the price of a company's financial products if made public."

Illustration for Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013

When you hear the term "material information" in this part of the law, it refers to information about a listed issuer that you would expect to affect the price of their financial products if it were publicly known. This information is specific to that issuer or their products, rather than general information about all financial products or issuers. You can think of it as information that would be important for people to know when deciding whether to buy or sell those products.

When it comes to quoted derivatives, material information is similar, but it's about information that would affect the price of those derivatives if it were publicly known. This information is specific to those derivatives, the underlying products, or the issuer of those products. It's not general information about all derivatives or issuers.

The law uses the term "reasonable person" to describe who would expect this information to have a material effect, and you can find more information about similar laws by looking at the Securities Amendment Act 1988 and its sections 3 and 3A.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM4091284.

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230: Overview, or

"A guide to the rules for buying and selling financial products in New Zealand"

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232: Meaning of generally available to the market, or

"What 'generally available to the market' means: information investors can easily find and use."

Part 5Dealing in financial products on markets
Purposes, overview, and interpretation: Material information and generally available to the market

231Meaning of material information

  1. In this Part, material information, in relation to a listed issuer, is information that—

  2. a reasonable person would expect, if it were generally available to the market, to have a material effect on the price of quoted financial products of the listed issuer; and
    1. relates to particular financial products, a particular listed issuer, or particular listed issuers, rather than to financial products generally or listed issuers generally.

      1. In this Part, material information, in relation to quoted derivatives, the underlying of quoted derivatives, or the issuer of a financial product underlying quoted derivatives, is information that—

      2. a reasonable person would expect, if it were generally available to the market, to have a material effect on the price of the derivatives; and
        1. relates to particular derivatives, a particular underlying, or a particular issuer of a financial product underlying quoted derivatives, rather than to derivatives generally or underlyings generally or issuers generally.

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