On 21 December 2021, the Securities Commission Malaysia announced the liberalisation of the unit trust framework to enable retail funds to invest in and offer a wider range of investment instruments and activities.
The enhancement of the guidelines includes, among other things:
- the expansion of the list of permissible investments by unit trust funds;
- the operational processes relating to managing a fund;
- a clarification of the existing requirements;
- the requirements for risk management at both entity and fund levels; and
- transparency on fund information, such as the requirement for fund information to be made available on the fund manager's website.
The liberalisation will take effect on 1 March 2022, and, consequently, the following guidelines will also be amended:
- the Guidelines on Private Retirement Scheme;
- the Guidelines on Exchange-Traded Funds;
- the Prospectus Guidelines for Collective Investment Schemes; and
- the Guidelines on Compliance Function for Fund Management Companies.
For further information on this topic please contact Pamela Kung at Shearn Delamore & Co by telephone (+60 3 2027 2911) or email ([email protected]). The Shearn Delamore & Co website can be accessed at www.shearndelamore.com.