mas - new requirements to assess investment knowledge and experience of retail customers

yesterday, the monetary authority of singapore issued new requirements for intermediaries to formally assess a retail customer's investment knowledge and experience before selling certain investment products.

generally, these are SIPs or specified investment products and exclude the following:

Annex – Excluded Investment Products

Unless otherwise provided here, the terms used or referred to in this Annex shall have the same meanings assigned to them in section 2 of the Act or section 2 of the Securities and Futures Act (Cap. 289), where applicable.

“Excluded Investment Product” means:

(a) any stocks or shares issued or proposed to be issued by a corporation or body unincorporate, other than where such corporation or body unincorporate is a collective investment scheme;

(b) any unit of a share which represents ownership of the underlying share, where the underlying share is held on trust for the unit-holder by a custodian, and where –

(i) the units of shares have been previously issued, are listed for quotation or quoted on a securities exchange, and are traded on the exchange or an application has been or will be made for permission for the units of shares to be listed for quotation or quoted on a securities exchange or recognised securities exchange and the shares have been previously issued and are listed for quotation on a securities exchange or a recognised securities exchange; and

(ii) no additional consideration (other than administrative fees) is payable by the unit-holder in the event that he converts the unit of share into the underlying share;

(c) any right, option or derivative issued or proposed to be issued by a corporation or body unincorporate in respect of its own stocks or shares;

(d) any unit in a business trust;

(e) any unit in a collective investment scheme, such collective investment scheme being an arrangement:

(i) that is a trust;

(ii) that invests primarily in real estate and real estate-related assets specified by the Authority in the Code on Collective Investment Schemes; and

(iii) all or any units of which are listed for quotation on a securities exchange;

(f) any debenture other than:

(i) asset-backed securities as defined in section 262 (3) of the Securities and Futures Act (Cap.289); or

(ii) structured notes as defined in regulation 2 (1) of the Securities and Futures (Offers of Investments) (Shares and Debentures) Regulations 2005;

(g) any life insurance policy other than investment-linked life insurance policies as defined in the First Schedule to the Insurance Act (Cap. 142); or

(h) any contract or arrangement the effect of which is that one party agrees to exchange currency at an agreed rate of exchange with another party, where such currency exchange is effected immediately,

but does not include any product specified in items (a) to (h) above that is listed for quotation or quoted only on a securities market or a futures market that is not operated by an approved exchange.

the new requirements shall be effective from january 01, 2012.

source: http://www.mas.gov.sg/news_room/press_releases/2011/MAS_requires_intermediaries_to_assess_investment_knowledge_and_experience_of_retail_customers.html

my comments:

my take is the new requirements will be positive for the industry itself, the advisers and of course, beneficial to the consumers as well.

meanwhile, we shall have to await the actual mechanics of the new requirements to be rolled-out prior to the implementation which is not that far away, on january 01, 2012.