4 Asean countries ink MOU on capital market professional mobility

The Securities and Exchange Commission has teamed up with its Southeast Asian counterparts to allow investment professionals do business across their jurisdictions, in a bid to catalyze greater connectivity, inclusiveness and resilience of capital markets across the region.

The Philippine SEC, the Securities Commission Malaysia, Monetary Authority of Singapore and SEC Thailand are the first securities regulators in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) to participate in the initiative to facilitate cross-border movement of investment advisers.

They signed the memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the Asean Capital Markets Forum (ACMF) pass under the Asean Capital Market Professional Mobility Framework which was expected to be implemented by January 2019.

The next potential participants to sign the MOU are Brunei and Vietnam.

The ACMF pass allows the freer movement of professionals licensed in their home countries to perform investment advice activities and issue research report on Asean financial products in a host country. This means locally-licensed professionals can provide advisory services in participating Asean jurisdictions, with fast-tracked registration and no additional licensing requirements.

“Our local investor will be benefited by this framework because if professionals from other Asean countries will come here under the framework, then information on any Asean financial products will be readily accessible and available,” the SEC said.

Philippine professionals who may participate in the ACMF Pass are licensed salesmen for equities and fixed income and certified investment solicitors under the employ of fund managers and who are involved in the fund management activity of their employer, the SEC said in a briefing paper issued on Friday.

The ACMF pass will have a two-year validity. After the first two years, the presence of the investment professional in a host country will already be subject to the regulation of the host country.

To obtain an ACMF pass, the investment professionals will have to be affiliated with one or more hosting licensed firm. They do not need to be full-time employees of the host firm. However, the host firm will be accountable for the activities of the foreign professional and will have to ensure that they act in accordance with local regulations.

The hosting licensed firm will apply for the ACMF pass on behalf of the foreign professional.