Fund managers in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand to have wider access to retail investors

The Securities Commission Malaysia, the Monetary Authority of Singapore, and the Securities and Exchange Commission of Thailand said in a joint statement Monday that, the revised framework which took effect on February 23, enables fund managers operating in one jurisdiction to offer funds constituted and approved in that jurisdiction to retail investors in the other two jurisdictions under a streamlined authorization process.

The revised framework, which incorporates feedback from extensive industry consultations, seeks to promote more cross-border offerings of ASEAN funds and allow fund managers to offer a broader range of fund products to investors in the region, according to the statement.

The key enhancements to the framework enable a wider range of fund managers to participate in the framework by lowering qualifying criteria to 350 million U.S. dollars assets under management from the 500 million U.S. dollars.

It also shortens the time-to-market for the launch of funds, as the signatories have committed to reviewing within 21 calendar days a complete application from fund managers for the authorization of a fund.

Besides, it gives participating fund managers more flexibility to delegate the investment management of a fund by increasing from 20 percent to 100 percent the proportion of the fund's assets that can be sub-managed by a manager that is not regulated by a signatory.