The Securities Commission Malaysia, the Monetary Authority of Singapore, and the Securities and Exchange Commission of Thailand have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to enhance the ASEAN Collective Investment Schemes (CIS) Framework. 

The ASEAN CIS framework enables fund managers operating in one jurisdiction to offer funds constituted and approved in that jurisdiction to retail investors in the other two jurisdictions under a streamlined authorisation process.

This framework also enables fund managers operating in a signatory jurisdiction to offer collective investment schemes or funds constituted and approved in that jurisdiction to retail investors in other signatory jurisdictions under a streamlined authorisation process. 

The revised Framework which will took effect on February 23, incorporates feedback from extensive industry consultations, seeks to promote more cross-border offerings of ASEAN funds and allow fund managers to offer a broader range of fund products to investors in the region. 

One of the key enhancements to the framework will enable a wider range of fund managers to participate in the framework by lowering qualifying criteria to US$350 million assets under management from US$500 million and shorten the time-to-market for the launch of funds, as the signatories have committed to reviewing within 21 calendar days a complete application from fund managers for the authorisation of a fund. 

Besides that, the framework will give participating fund managers more flexibility to delegate the investment management of a fund by increasing from 20 per cent to 100 per cent the proportion of the fund’s assets that can be sub-managed by a manager that is not regulated by a signatory

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