AMP shareholder class action

A class action is a legal action that is brought by one or more persons (the plaintiffs) on their own behalf and on behalf of a group of persons (group members) against another person or persons (defendant), where the plaintiffs and the group members all have similar claims against the defendant. The plaintiffs in the AMP shareholder class action are Komlotex Pty Limited and Fernbrook (Aust) Investments Pty Limited. 

The plaintiffs in a class action do not need to seek the consent of group members to commence a class action on their behalf, or to identify a specific group member or members. However, group members can cease to be group members by ‘opting out’ of the class action before a Court-imposed deadline. An explanation of how group members could opt out was contained in a previous notice to group members and the deadline for opting out has now passed. 

From 16 April 2018, AMP was the subject of examination by the Financial Services Royal Commission. During the course of this, two significant revelations of misconduct by AMP were the focus:

1. For a number of years, AMP had knowingly been charging clients ongoing fees for no service in various contexts.
2. AMP misled ASIC on repeated occasions when reporting to ASIC regarding its charging of fees for no service.

Since these revelations, the fallout for AMP has been considerable. The market strongly reacted and by the first week, AMP’s share price had fallen by around 11%. Both Catherine Brenner (ex-Chairman) and Craig Meller (ex-CEO) resigned from their positions and two other directors stood down.

Maurice Blackburn commenced a class action against AMP, on behalf of shareholders in AMP, for its failure to disclose the market sensitive information above to the ASX. This is alleged to amount to misleading and deceptive conduct and a breach of its continuous disclosure obligations under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) and the ASX Listing Rules.

For more information about the claim, read the Plaintiffs’ 'Further Amended Commercial List Statement’. 

No, registrations are now closed. On 27 September 2023, Justice Ball of the Supreme Court of New South Wales made orders which required all group members who wished to participate in the class action settlement to register by 4pm (AEDT) on 3 November 2023. 

Only group members who registered to participate before 4pm (AEDT) on 3 November 2023 are eligible to participate in the settlement.

Group members in the AMP shareholder class action are all persons who acquired an interest in AMP securities during the Relevant Period (10 May 2012 to 13 April 2018), other than certain persons related to or associated with AMP, and judges of Courts involved (or potentially involved) in the class action.

You may be a group member if you entered into a contract to acquire an interest in:

(a) fully paid ordinary shares in AMP during the period 10 May 2012 to 13 April 2018 (inclusive), including by way of dividend reinvestment; and/or

(b) American Depository Receipts representing AMP Shares between 7 June 2012 and 13 April 2018 (inclusive).

At the settlement approval hearing, Maurice Blackburn asked the Court to approve its legal costs which include fees for the work done by solicitors and disbursements (including fees for barristers, experts and court fees). The Court could only approve an amount of legal costs which it considered to be fair and reasonable, and in making that decision it took into account the opinion of an expert costs assessor.

The Court approved costs of $26.2 million up to the settlement approval hearing on 14 November 2023. These costs were incurred over more than five years and include the costs of investigating and preparing the matter for trial, and numerous pre-trial hearings, including appeals to the NSW Court of Appeal and the High Court of Australia. The Court approved a further $1.13 million for settlement administration costs. 

At the settlement approval hearing, the Court ordered that the reasonable legal costs of conducting the class action be deducted from the settlement sum, before calculating each group member’s entitlement.

This means that, if you are eligible to participate as a group member in the distribution of the settlement sum, your share of the settlement will be calculated and paid to you after deduction of any legal costs. 

Under no circumstances will you be liable to pay any ‘out-of-pocket’ costs to Maurice Blackburn.

By the registration deadline of 4pm (AEDT) on 3 November 2023, 18,702 group members had registered to participate in the settlement.

At the settlement approval hearing, the Court appointed Maurice Blackburn as the Settlement Administrator and it also approved the Settlement Distribution Scheme which sets out the process by which the settlement amount will be distributed to group members.

The Settlement Distribution Scheme sets out the processes which need to happen before any money can be distributed to group members. This includes writing to group members to confirm the trade data which we have received from them is correct, providing an estimate of the amount each group member will receive, and seeking bank account details from group members. The Settlement Distribution Scheme includes a Loss Assessment Formula which details how each group member’s entitlement to a share of the Settlement Sum will be calculated. 

The Loss Assessment Formula is a confidential document. To access the Loss Assessment Formula and/or the Settlement Distribution Scheme please contact us directly via email at AMPclassaction@mauriceblackburn.com.au

Unfortunately, at this time, it is not possible to estimate how much (if any) each registered group member will receive from the settlement as it is dependent on several factors.

This will be calculated over the coming months and once calculated, you will receive an estimate in the Trade Check and Assessment Notice. 

Our current best estimate is that, after completing the necessary steps under the Settlement Distribution Scheme, most group members will receive compensation by the end of June 2024.

We will continue to update our website as the settlement administration progresses and if this timeframe changes.