Financial Asset Investing: ABS business counts

In this class, the ABS counts businesses mainly engaged in investing money on their own account in predominantly financial assets such as shares, bonds, bills and financial derivatives (including mortgages), excluding businesses of separately constituted superannuation funds. Also included are investment type business trusts mainly engaged in holding financial assets, as well as financial holding companies holding shares in subsidiary companies.

Examples the ABS lists:

• Charitable/educational trust or foundation operation (investment type; in predominantly financial assets, except trust management services on a commission or fee basis)
• Friendly society operation (investment type; in predominantly financial assets)
• Holding company operation (viz. holding shares in subsidiary companies)
• Investment operation (own account; in predominantly financial assets; except superannuation funds)
• Mutual fund operation (except fund management on a commission or fee basis)
• Unit trust operation (investment type; in predominantly financial assets; except trust management on a commission or fee basis)

The ABS counts businesses mainly engaged in this related work in other classes:

• Businesses of holding companies mainly engaged in activities other than holding shares, or of trusts or funds mainly engaged in producing goods or services (rather than merely investing money) are classified to the appropriate industry classes in accordance with their primary activity
• providing benefits through separately constituted funds are included in Class 6330 Superannuation Funds
• underwriting new security issues or in buying or selling stocks, shares or other financial securities for others are included in Class 6411 Financial Asset Broking Services
• managing (e.g. on a commission or fee basis) financial asset investments for others (except for separately constituted superannuation funds), or businesses mainly engaged in providing trustee or financial asset investment advisory services, are included in Class 6419 Other Auxiliary Finance and Investment Services
• renting and leasing non-financial intangible assets such as patents and trademarks are included in Class 6640 Non-Financial Intangible Assets (Except Copyrights) Leasing
• operating residential property trusts are included in Class 6711 Residential Property Operators
• operating non-residential property trusts are included in Class 6712 Non-Residential Property Operators

The ABS page for class 6240 gives the full definition and what the class leaves out.