1H23 Results

1H23 RESULTS | 23 FEBRUARY 2023 Regulatory reform OMNI BRIDGEWAY Highlights Financial results Portfolio performance Strategy Annexure US Some US courts have set rules requiring disclosure of litigation funding arrangements. Omni Bridgeway continues to review and consider the implications of such rules. The US Chamber of Commerce's Institute for Legal Reform continues to promote the introduction of litigation finance legislation at the state level in Delaware, Kansas, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin. The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) initiated an inquiry into the US litigation funding industry. This non-partisan branch of the federal government provides research reports to Congress. Representatives from the ILFA (including Omni Bridgeway) participated in the inquiry. The GAO report was published in December 2022. It surveyed the third-party litigation finance market, discussed pros and cons and distinguished between commercial and consumer funding. The report made no specific recommendations. Europe In September 2022, the EU Parliament approved a Committee on Legal Affairs report into litigation funding lead by EU Parliament member Axel Voss. Voss Report relied heavily on the inaccurate information in the previous Australian government's regulatory review process. The EU Parliament has requested the European Commission to propose a Directive after 25 June 2023, following which, if enacted, Member States would have time to implement the Directive in their domestic law. Australia Following the change of the federal government in May 2022, a more favourable regulatory landscape emerged. In June 2022, the Federal Court of Appeal held that a funded class action is not a MIS (managed investment scheme). In December 2022, the federal government enacted regulations that exempt litigation funders from holding an Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) and other financial services regulatory requirements. New Zealand In June 2022, Aotearoa New Zealand Law Commission published a report on class actions and litigation funding. It recommended the creation of a statutory class action regime with the courts regulating funding of such actions. Importantly, the Commission recognised the benefits of litigation funding, particularly given the high costs of large, complex litigation that, in all jurisdictions, can limit access to justice. 18

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