All advisers will be listed in a public register
Currently, only Independent Financial Advisers (IFA) are individual licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). Advisers or representatives with banks, insurers and other exempt financial institutions are not. Under the Securities and Futures (Amendment) Bill 2008 and Financial Advisers (Amendment) Bill 2008, a new Representative Notification Framework will be introduced. Under this framework, all financial advisers (representatives) will be under the same regulatory treatment. MAS will maintain a public register will that will list the advisers and their relevant details.
It is a known fact that there is a high turnover rate in the financial advisory industry. Some advisers don’t really leave the industry but actually join a rival company. During the current market turbulence, some have not been able to contact their advisers. They seems to have just ‘disappeared into thin air’ in a bid to avoid meeting their clients. Numerous complaints have also been heard over similar ‘vanishing acts’ by the Relationship Managers (RM) over the issue of the Lehman-linked structured deposits. There is a high possibility that their advisers have joined another company.
Once the Representative Notification Framework is in place, such irresponsible advisers will have no place to hide. It will be harder for them to ‘do a fast one’ and move to other institutions to continue their ‘killing spree’. Clients will be able to track their movements between companies. This will instill greater responsibility into advisers, agent, RMs and personal consultants alike. Consumers can also have a easier time identifying whether an ‘investment consultant’ or ‘planner’ is really licensed to provide advise with this one stop public register.
This development would be a step forward in the continuous improvement in the level of the financial advisory standard in Singapore.
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Tags: Regulatory Changes
