MAS looking at introducing quicker retail fund approvals

SINGAPORE — The Monetary Authority of Singapore will soon start consultations on quicker approvals of new types of investment funds within its retail funds regulatory framework, Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong said at the Association of Banks in Singapore's annual dinner on Thursday (June 25).

After the consultation process, the central bank could introduce a new category and approval process for non-traditional funds.

Here are some details:

Gan said that for most new fund types, MAS will aim to establish the necessary guardrails in about three months, which is quicker than the current process.

Once the guardrails are in place, similar funds could receive authorisation in around three weeks.

Funds would still need to meet core requirements in governance and asset safekeeping. 

He said a fund's underlying assets should be based on publicly traded securities and financial derivatives.

Gan also said the MAS would establish the Future of Finance Institute, an innovation centre to pool resources for specific artificial intelligence and tokenisation capabilities as well as test emerging technologies.

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