He must be at least 21 years of age, meet the minimum academic qualifications and examination rules set out in Notice SFA 04-N09 Minimum Entry and Examination Requirements for Representatives of Holders of Capital Markets Services Licensing and Exempt Financial Institutions, meet the appropriate criteria set out in the FSG-G01 Fit and Proper Criteria Guidelines, be in the process of relocation or have already moved to Singapore, have a minimum of 3 years experience related to the regulated activities to be carried out as a provisional representative and comply with the relevant review requirements within 3 months of being hired as a provisional representative.

The authority of the provisional representative shall be valid for a period of up to three months from the date of appointment. In the 3-month time limit, he must conform to the examination requirements.

A provisional representative may keep performing regulated activities as a provisional representative after his company has notified MAS (within a grace period of 3 months) of the affirmation by the representative of the relevant examination requirements through a one-time application of Form 3D; and his name has been entered in the Public Register of Representatives as a provisional representative.

If a corporation intends to purchase and sell securities or derivatives contracts on behalf of the shareholders and the actions of such activities are carried out on a recurrence, and continuity basis, that company is likely to be perceived as a broker-dealer and may need to be licensed.

If a corporation offers advice to a public company or to a company listed on an exchange or its subcontractor, and such suggestion is not for offering products on capital markets to the public, if the company gives advice to certified, expert, or organizational investors and does not provide advice on offering products on capital markets to the public, if a company has already been licensed by MAS as a bank, a merchant bank, a finance company or an insurance agency, and if a company provides advice on the laws or compliance standards for raising funds that do not involve any capital market products, then they will be exempted.

The operations involved in the preparation of a credit rating include the analysis of information or data, the formulation or drafting of an opinion on the credit quality of a credit rating target; the assessment or approval of a credit rating; the supervising or review of a credit rating issued; the development or drafting of credit rating methodologies or models; and the assessment or approval of a credit rating methodology.

Individuals who perform essential functions in a REIT manager, such as investment management, asset management, financing, marketing, and wealth management must be representatives. An individual may be a designated, provisional or temporary representative.

A SCF operator that promotes the offering of securities (e.g. shares or bonds) issued by a company to investors and performs this activity with repetition and consistency requires licensing. Depending on their business plan, SCF operators may engage in controlled capital market transactions with securities or fund management products, unless an exemption applies.

Examples of exemptions available to fund management are: when a company handles a pool of immovable assets for approved and institutional investors; when an organization manages funds for related corporations; or when a company manages funds belonging to a single group of related family members.

Prospectus exemptions are applicable for offers such as: personal offers of no more than $5 million in any 12 month period; offers of not more than 50 persons in any 12 month period; offers made to investment firms, and offers made to authorized users and family members.

It refers to a trust created by a settlor who provides insight as to how his or her property ought to be kept. A company that provides trust services, such as the establishment of an express trust; acting as the beneficiary of an express trust; organizing any person to act as trustee of an express trust, and providing trust management services to an express trust is obliged to have a license under TCA (Trust Companies Act).

If a corporation is already licensed by MAS as a bank or a merchant bank, it would be exempted from holding a license. The bank or the merchant bank must immediately inform MAS by submitting Form 8 within one month of the start of the trust business.

When a firm gathers and holds the assets of third-party participants in a pooled investment arrangement or invests them in separate portfolios of capital markets items such as stock, fixed income, and financial derivatives, it is managing the funds (fund management) and will need to be authorized or registered to do so.

Based on the scale of the company’s planned assets under control and target clientele, it will act as a Registered Fund Management Company (RFMC) that could have up to 30 approved and professional investors and S$250 million under management (AUM) assets, unlike a licensed fund management company that has no limit on the number of investors.

Examples of such companies include the ones that are managing a pool of immovable assets for approved and institutional investors; managing funds for related corporate entities; or managing money corresponding to a single group of related family members. In certain situations, companies may need to apply to MAS specifically for exemption if they are not properly within the predefined scope of exclusion.

If the financial advisor only gives recommendations or research analysis on bonds to authorized users or institutional investors, provides advice or analysis of the findings to no more than 30 certified investors, and has also been authorized by MAS as a merchant bank, investment firm, or insurance company, he would be exempted from the obligation of licensing.

They are subject to the identification system known as RMOs (recognized market operators) where MAS relies on the home regulator to oversee the international agency. A crucial criterion for classification as a foreign RMO is that the regulatory framework for the home authority of a foreign company should be equal to the SFA.

A locally incorporated organization that seeks to provide trading monitoring services to help participants to meet their obligations under the MAS reporting mandate must be approved by MAS as an LTR (licensed trade repository).

The manager of the VC needs to monitor funds which comply with the following conditions: Invest in corporate enterprises that are not classified on a stock exchange; spend at least 80 percent of the invested money in shares that are specifically sold by start-ups who are not more than ten years old; fund units are not eligible for new subscription until the completion of the fund-raising duration and may only be recycled at the conclusion of the fund life; which are sold exclusively to approved and/or institutional investors.

Subsidiary legislation is issued under the executive power of the relevant Acts. Usually, they represent the rules of the Act which set out in greater detail the conditions to be fulfilled by financial institutions or other designated entities. Subsidiary legislation has the legal force and may clearly state that the infringement is a criminal offense.

Codes are a series of laws regulating the operation of certain identified operations. Codes are non-legislative and do not have the power of law. However, a violation of the Code may lead to certain non-legislative sanctions, such as private admonishment or public censorship. Failure to comply with the Code is not, in itself, a criminal offense, but can have some implications.

In particular, the Directives place contractually enforceable conditions on an independent financial entity or on a designated person. The Directives for Commercial Banks are basically “Notices” for the purposes of this classification. They are regarded as Directives for historical reasons. Notices often place legally binding conditions on a specified class of financial entities or entities as well.

Pursuant to the Notice of Appointment and Use of Introducers by Financial Advisors (Note No FAA-N02), enter into a written arrangement with an external Introducer; track the actions of the Introducer to ensure that the Introducer makes the required reports to clients in compliance with Regulation 31 of the FAR; ensure that the Introducer should not manage the capital or goods of the entity in relation to its activities; provide a guide for the use of the Introducer in its activities, and create a registry of Introductors named by the Introducer.

An introducer is expected to report information to the customer as to whether he will be remunerated by the financial advisor at the time of the initiation of the activities. Such details can be made available either orally or in writing. Where the information is recorded in writing, it should be mentioned explicitly and specifically, and a copy of the paper containing the information should be given to the customer.

They must receive timely and trustworthy data to provide a realistic description of ML/TF threats, particularly existing or evolving ML/TF risks, to which the payment service provider is exposed by its operations or business relationships; they must acquire adequate information to determine whether AML/CFT controls by the payment service provider are adequate and effective; receive updates on legal and regulatory changes and their effects on the AML/CFT system of the payment service provider; and ensure that mechanisms are in place to prioritize critical decisions that directly affect the capacity of the payment service provider to manage and monitor ML / TF risks, particularly where AML/CFT controls are perceived to be insufficient or ineffective.

It must track the ability to recognize adjustments in the customer profile and transactional activity encountered in the course of its operation, the capacity for misuse of new market strategies, products, and facilities for ML/TF purposes; regulatory arrangements; the equilibrium between the use of automatic technologies and the use of manual processes for risk mitigation, coordination between AML/CFT enforcement and other activities of the payment service provider; sufficient preparation and knowledge of AML/CFT personnel and officers; internal review process and referral of related AML/CFT problems to the directors and senior management of the payment service provider; coordination between payment service provider and law enforcement authorities; and the involvement of third parties depended on by the payment service provider to enact CDD initiatives.

A copy of the document approved as a true copy can be approved by a suitably trained individual (e.g. a lawyer or certified official or technical accountant); or if an employee or representative of the payment service provider, irrespective of the payment service provider’s interactions with the client, has verified that the original document has been examined.

It includes the approval of the appointment of a CEO liable for the business activities of a licensed financial advisor in Singapore, irrespective of the position of his residence; the appointment of a director registered in Singapore; the appointment of a director of a licensed financial planner working in Singapore as a branch office of a foreign company; who lives or works in Singapore and/or is solely responsible for the business of the licensed financial planner in Singapore; and the shift in the scope of the position from the non-executive director to the executive director.

The license will expire if it is revoked or otherwise discontinued, whether in Singapore or elsewhere; he has not resumed business in any financial advisory service within 6 months of the license being issued, or he has failed to offer all forms of financial advisory services protected by the license for a continuous duration of 2 months and has not informed It of its cessation of operation.

When the license for continuing the financial advisory expires, all downloaded or written copy/copies of the e-license should be deleted by the financial advisor. Further details are provided in Section 19(1) of the FAA and Regulation 8 of the FAR.