If your company wishes to conduct fund management activities regulated under the Securities and Futures Act 2001 (SFA) , it must apply to be a licensed fund management company (LFMC) that holds a capital markets services (CMS) licence.

If your company solely manages venture capital funds, it may apply to be an LFMC that operates under the simplified venture capital fund manager (VCFM) regime.

Individuals performing key functions in a fund management company, such as portfolio construction and allocation, research and advisory, business development and marketing or client servicing are required to be representatives.

You can find out more about fund management activity and the differences between an LFMC and VCFM here.

When we assess your company to be an LFMC or VCFM, MAS considers factors such as:

• Credibility and substantiveness of the business model and plan, and the associated risks;
• Effectiveness of risk management and compliance controls;
• Fund management track record and expertise of an LFMC applicant's management, parent company and major shareholders;
• Fitness and propriety of the applicant, its shareholders and directors; and
• Ability to meet the relevant minimum financial requirements prescribed under the SFA.

In addition, your company needs to operate from a dedicated and secure office space that is accessible only by your company’s directors and staff.

For more information on the admission criteria and applicable requirements, please refer to the Guidelines on Licensing and Conduct of Business for Fund Management Companies.

VCFMs are subject to a simplified set of admission criteria – please refer to Appendix 4 of the aforementioned guidelines. 

If your company is able to operate under an existing class exemption, it does not require a licence. Examples of companies that may be eligible for exemption include those that:

• Manage assets for related corporations or related family members;
  
• Manage a pool of immovable assets for accredited and institutional investors; or
• Manage a pool of non-capital markets products for accredited and institutional investors.

You can find more information on exemptions under section 99 of the SFA and paragraph 5 of the Second Schedule to the Securities and Futures (Licensing and Conduct of Business) Regulations .

If your company wishes to make an application, please submit Form 1 online, through the eLicensing system. For technical assistance, please refer to the Help section. We no longer accept applications in the Corporate e-Lodgement System (CeL).

In addition, if your company hires or appoints individuals to conduct regulated activity under your licence, you have to appoint these individuals as your representatives for that regulated activity.

If your company also intends to deal in capital markets products (e.g. to operate a central dealing desk for equities, fixed income and derivatives) for its related companies that is separate from its fund management mandates, it will need to apply to add to its CMS licence the regulated activity of dealing in capital markets products as below.

A non-refundable application fee is payable in order for the application to be submitted. eLicensing accepts most credit cards as well as PayNow. Upon successful payment, you will receive an acknowledgement of the successful submission. The acknowledgement will also be emailed to the contact person identified in the application. For the lodgment fees for representatives that your company appoints, please refer to Appointing a Representative for CMS Licensees or Exempt Financial Institutions.

We expect to take up to 6 months to review applications which are complete and by applicants that meet all admission criteria.

Applications may take longer if the applicant does not fully meet relevant admission criteria, has unique and complex business models, or does not submit all necessary forms, information and documents in the initial application. A longer review period should be expected if significant changes are made to the initial application. MAS may require a fresh submission in such situations.

An in-principle approval (IPA) is issued to successful applicants at the conclusion of our review process, and the applicant has up to 6 months to fulfil specified requirements for licensing. As soon as the applicant meets these requirements, MAS will grant the licence. MAS reserves the right to rescind the IPA if the applicant does not fulfil the requirements within the timeline, or if there are changes to the applicant’s business plan and/or key persons after IPA has been issued. At its discretion, MAS may extend the IPA by a further 3 months if there are strong reasons to do so.

In addition to the annual corporate fee for the licence status, there will also be annual fees for representatives appointed by an LFMC. Details can be found in Appointing a Representative for CMS Licensees or Exempt Financial Institutions.

The licence is valid until:

• The fund manager stops conducting all the regulated activities on the CMS licence, and the licence is cancelled by MAS.
• The licence is revoked by MAS.
• The licence lapses in accordance with section 95 of the SFA .

All entities that are holding a CMS licence to conduct regulated fund management activities are listed on the Financial Institutions Directory. Fund managers that cease to be licensed will be removed from the directory.

MAS also publishes a Licensing and Registration Report for Capital Markets Intermediaries (including fund management companies).

For more information on the common approvals, notifications and other regulatory submissions relevant to fund management companies, please refer to the Compliance Toolkit for Approvals, Notifications and Other Regulatory Submissions to MAS for Fund Managers.