[ A D V E R T O R I A L ]
investment restriction and language. The
ASEAN CIS passport is intended to facili-
tate inbound and outbound intra-regional
fund offerings and distribution.
As with all cross-border transactions,
we do anticipate opportunities to becom-
ing the domestic local service provider to
inbound funds/investors coming to our
shores. However, until the CIS frame-
work is further harmonised, we expect
the markets in ASEAN to remain domes-
tic-focused rather than regional.
How would you characterise the level of
competition in the Malaysian securities
services market?
In Malaysia, competition is seen from two
aspects. An important factor is whether
you have trustee services in your setup
or not. If you have trustee services, then
you will be able to compete for the CIS
business i.e. unitised funds which covers
unit trust funds, wholesale funds and
private retirement scheme funds. For
custodians who do not have a trustee
setup, the custodian bank will have to
work with standalone trustees who will
appoint them as third party custodian.
Currently, of the six domestic custodian
banks, only one is without a trustee arm.
The five trustee/custodian banks compete
Where do you see the biggest opportuni-
ties over the next year?
One such opportunity is the execution of
the Islamic Fund and Wealth Manage-
ment (IFWM) blueprint which aims to
consolidate Malaysia’s position as a global
hub for Islamic funds, anchoring on
SRI investment funds. There is also the
“In 2016, Islamic fund AUM grew by 13%, primarily driven by
expansion of Islamic unit trust funds while total fund AUM
grew 4.3%.”
at different levels due to differing service
offerings and capabilities.
The other competition is from the pure
play custodian segment. Custodians are
directly appointed for non-unitised funds,
direct and discretionary mandates, and
they are highly competitive as service
offerings are more homogenous, enabling
them to quote very low fees.
development of Islamic wealth manage-
ment services under IFWM. Additionally,
there is the introduction of the digital
investment services framework by SC as
part of SC’s digital agenda to provide both
retail and
institutional investors with a more con-
venient, affordable and accessible channel
to manage and grow their wealth.
Summer 2017
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