Fund Management Licensing and Registration
The list of fund management companies are listed in the Financial Institutions Directory.
Who needs to apply?
If your company wishes to conduct regulated fund management activities under the Securities and Futures Act (SFA) , it must be registered with MAS or hold a capital markets services (CMS) licence to operate either as a:
- Registered fund management company (RFMC) or
- Licensed fund management company (LFMC). Managers of venture capital funds may also apply to operate under the 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 various types of fund management authorisation statuses here.
MAS also publishes a Licensing and Registration Report for Capital Markets Intermediaries (including fund management companies) here.
What are the admission criteria and applicable requirements?
When assessing an application to be an RFMC, LFMC or VCFM, MAS takes into account factors such as:
- Fitness and propriety of the applicant, its shareholders and directors.
- Track record and fund management expertise of the applicant and its parent company or major shareholders.
- Ability to meet the minimum financial requirements prescribed under the SFA.
- Strength of internal risk management and compliance systems.
- Business model/ plans and projections and the associated risks.
In addition, your company would need 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, Registration and Conduct of Business for 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.
VCFMs are subject to a simplified set of admission criteria – please refer to Appendix 7 of the aforementioned guidelines.
What are the applicable financial and staffing requirements?
| Type of fund manager | Retail LFMC | Accredited/Institutional LFMC (A/I LFMC) | VCFM | RFMC |
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More details on the base capital and other financial requirements can be found in the Securities and Futures (Financial and Margin Requirements for Holders of Capital Markets Services Licences) Regulations (SF(FMR)R) . The base capital requirements are set out in the First Schedule to the SF(FMR)R . Details of the financial resources requirement are found in the Notice SFA 04-N13 Risk Based Capital Adequacy Requirements for Holders of Capital Markets Services Licences. |
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Annual corporate fee In addition to the annual corporate fee for the licence or registration 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. |
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How do I apply for licensing or registration?
| Type of fund manager | Retail LFMC or A/I LFMC | VCFM | RFMC |
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Applying for licensing or registration If your company is making an application, submit the relevant form for that type of fund manager online through the Corporate e-Lodgment System (CeL). For information on CeL, please refer to the CeL user guide. To access the forms, you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader version 9.4.4 or above. |
Form 1A (Application for a capital markets services (CMS) licence to provide fund management) There is a non-refundable application fee of S$1,000. Upon submission of the application via CeL, you will receive instructions on the amount of application fees payable on the acknowledgement page. |
Form 1V (Application for a CMS licence as a Venture Capital Fund Manager) There is a non-refundable application fee of S$1,000. Upon submission of the application via CeL, you will receive instructions on the amount of application fees payable on the acknowledgement page. |
Form 22A (Notice of Commencement of Business as a Registered Fund Management Company) |
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Appointing representatives If you hire or appoint individuals to conduct a regulated activity under your licence, you have to appoint these individuals as your representatives for that regulated activity. |
Submit appointment forms for your representatives. Refer to the page Appointing a Representative for CMS Licensees or Exempt Financial Institutions for more information. | Identify your representatives. A separate form is not required. | Indicate your representatives within the Form 22A. |
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Applying to conduct additional regulated activity If your company also intends to deal in capital markets products (e.g. equities, fixed income and derivatives) for your related companies, you will need to apply to add this activity. |
If you are applying to be an LFMC, select the applicable option(s) in section 1 of Form 1A. If you are an existing LFMC, submit Form 5 to your MAS officer-in-charge. There is a non-refundable application fee of S$500 payable via GIRO. You will also have to appoint individuals who conduct the additional dealing activity as your representatives. Your company and the dealing representatives will have to comply with relevant capital and conduct requirements applicable to this activity under the SFA . |
Not applicable | Not applicable |
What is the processing time required?
We expect to take up to 6 months to review FMC applications which are complete and by applicants that meet all admission criteria. An in-principle approval (“IPA”) is issued to successful applicants at the conclusion of our review process. Applicants have up to 6 months to fulfil requirements set out in the IPA. These requirements typically relate to provision of undertakings, topping up of share capital or formalising the appointments of certain key personnel. The timeline for this phase depends on how quickly the applicant can fulfil the requirements. 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.
Applications may experience a longer review period, 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. The applicant should also expect a longer review period if it makes significant changes after making its initial application. MAS may require a fresh submission in such situations.
What is the validity of the licence or registration?
The licence or registration is valid until:
- The fund manager stops conducting all the regulated activities on the CMS licence, and the licence is cancelled by MAS, or cease to conduct business as an RFMC.
- The licence or registration is revoked by MAS.
- The licence lapses in accordance with section 95 of the SFA , or the registration ceases in accordance with paragraph 5(2)(bb) of the Second Schedule to the Securities and Futures (Licensing and Conduct of Business) Regulations .
All entities that are registered or holding a CMS licence to conduct regulated fund management activities are listed on the Financial Institutions Directory. Correspondingly, all fund managers that ceased to be registered or hold a licence will be removed from the Financial Institutions Directory.