ASIC managed investment scheme category codes

Reference for ASIC scheme category codes on registered managed investment schemes, from primary production and property to IDPS-like, mortgage and time share.

A registered managed investment scheme is a pooled investment vehicle registered with ASIC under Chapter 5C of the Corporations Act 2001 and identified by an ARSN rather than an ACN. When a scheme is registered its responsible entity nominates one or more categories describing what the scheme invests in, and ASIC stores these as four-letter codes. Property trusts, mortgage funds, agricultural schemes, film schemes, IDPS-like platforms and time share resorts are all managed investment schemes, and the category codes are how you tell them apart in an extract.

Where it appears in the API

company.schemeCategories[] from GET /v1/companies/{id} when the organisation type is MISM. Each element is a coded value { "code": "REAL", "label": "Direct Real Property Scheme" }. The array is empty for companies.
The {id} for a scheme is its nine-digit ARSN; company.numberType is { "code": "ARSN", "label": "Australian Registered Scheme Number" }.
new-schemes weekly summaries (POST /v1/weekly-summaries with "type": "new-schemes") list newly registered schemes with sub-type MISM; fetch the scheme by ARSN to see its categories.
Scheme-related office holder roles RN, TN, RY, CA, MA and PW appear in the officeholders section of a purchased extract of the scheme.

Scheme categories

Code	Meaning
`DRVT`	Derivatives Scheme
`FAST`	Financial Assets Scheme
`FILM`	Film Scheme
`IDPS`	IDPS - Like
`INVP`	Invested Directed Portfolio Services
`LPTR`	Listed Property Trusts
`MSTR`	Member Discretionary Master Fund & Similar Schemes
`MTGE`	Mortgage Scheme
`OTHR`	Other Kind Scheme
`PP`	Primary Production - To Be Converted
`PPA`	Primary Production - Aquaculture
`PPCB`	Primary Production - Cattle Breeding
`PPF`	Primary Production - Forestry
`PPH`	Primary Production - Horticulture
`PPHB`	Primary Production - Horse Breeding
`PPL`	Primary Production - Livestock Grown for Fleece
`PPR`	Primary Production - Ratites (OST/EMU)
`PPTT`	Primary Production - Tea Trees
`PPV`	Primary Production - Viticulture
`PRCV`	Property - To Be Converted
`PRIM`	Primary Production
`REAL`	Direct Real Property Scheme
`SPTR`	Stable Property Trusts or syndicates
`SSSC`	Serviced Strata Schemes
`TIME`	Time Share Scheme

25 codes. Source: the "Scheme Categories" table in ASIC's Datastream specification.

Categories in groups

The table is alphabetical by code. In practice the categories fall into seven groups.

Group	Codes	Plain-English meaning
Primary production schemes	PRIM, PP, PPA, PPCB, PPF, PPH, PPHB, PPL, PPR, PPTT, PPV	Agribusiness schemes where investors fund farming activity and share the produce or proceeds. `PRIM` is the general code. The `PP` prefixed codes name the activity: aquaculture, cattle breeding, forestry (the largest group historically), horticulture, horse breeding, livestock grown for fleece, ratites (ostrich and emu), tea trees and viticulture. `PP` on its own marks a scheme awaiting conversion to a specific code.
Property schemes	REAL, LPTR, SPTR, SSSC, PRCV	Schemes holding real estate. `REAL` is a direct real property scheme, `LPTR` a listed property trust (now usually called an A-REIT), `SPTR` an unlisted property trust or syndicate, `SSSC` a serviced strata scheme such as a managed apartment complex. `PRCV` is a property scheme awaiting conversion.
Financial asset and derivative schemes	FAST, MTGE, DRVT	`FAST` covers schemes investing in shares, bonds, cash and other financial assets, which is most managed funds. `MTGE` is a mortgage scheme lending investors' money against property. `DRVT` is a scheme dealing mainly in derivatives.
IDPS-like schemes and master funds	IDPS, INVP, MSTR	Investment platforms. `IDPS` marks an IDPS-like scheme, a registered scheme that behaves like an investor directed portfolio service. `INVP` is an investor directed portfolio service recorded as a scheme. `MSTR` is a member discretionary master fund or similar scheme where members choose between investment options.
Film schemes	FILM	Schemes financing the production of a film, historically supported by tax concessions.
Time share schemes	TIME	Time share resorts and holiday clubs where members hold rights to use accommodation.
Other	OTHR	Any scheme that does not fit the categories above.

A scheme can hold more than one category. A diversified fund is commonly FAST plus REAL, and a platform can be IDPS plus MSTR.

Scheme categories on a scheme record

{
  "object": "company",
  "id": "091234567",
  "acn": null,
  "arsn": "091234567",
  "formatted": "091 234 567",
  "numberType": { "code": "ARSN", "label": "Australian Registered Scheme Number" },
  "name": "EXAMPLE DIVERSIFIED PROPERTY FUND",
  "type": { "code": "MISM", "label": "Managed Investment Scheme" },
  "class": { "code": "PROP", "label": "Property" },
  "subClass": { "code": "NONE", "label": "Unknown" },
  "status": { "code": "REGD", "label": "Registered" },
  "schemeCategories": [
    { "code": "REAL", "label": "Direct Real Property Scheme" },
    { "code": "FAST", "label": "Financial Assets Scheme" }
  ]
}

Reading scheme records alongside the responsible entity

A scheme has no directors of its own. The officeholders section of a purchased extract shows the responsible entity (RN), any temporary or proposed responsible entity (TN, RY), the compliance plan auditor (CA) and the scheme auditor (MA). The responsible entity is an Australian public company holding an Australian financial services licence, and its ACN in the office holder record lets you fetch the responsible entity's own record and relationships. Scheme statuses to watch for are PEND (registration pending), WDUP (winding up) and WDPI (winding up of an older prescribed interest scheme); see company status codes.

Legacy categories

The scheme category table dates from the introduction of the managed investments regime in 1998 and has not kept pace with the industry. Exchange traded funds, hedge funds and infrastructure funds are all recorded under FAST, OTHR or a property code. Do not rely on the category alone to classify a scheme for regulatory purposes; read the scheme's product disclosure statement.

Managed investment schemes

ARSNs, responsible entities and how schemes differ from companies.

Get a company

GET /v1/companies/{id} works for an ARSN and returns schemeCategories.