KUALA LUMPUR, April 9 — The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) has reminded fund management and unit trust management companies of their obligations to act in the best interest of investors at all times and ensure fair treatment of their clients, in view of the unprecedented and volatile market conditions arising from the Covid-19 pandemic.
In a statement, the SC emphasised that good governance, proper conduct and continuous compliance to capital market regulations are imperative to the functioning of capital market intermediaries, which applies especially to investment management professionals licensed by the SC.
“Capital market intermediaries need to closely monitor the dealing and trading of funds under management, and ensure that their clients are informed of the potential risks in funds they intend to invest in.
“Market participants must also properly manage the funds’ liquidity, especially in mitigating potential mismatches between liquidity of the funds’ underlying assets and the redemption terms,” it said, adding that timely communications to both the regulator and investors are critical under the current market environment.
As such, the SC said capital market intermediaries are required to promptly alert the commission on any material issues or anticipated adverse circumstances relating to the funds under their management.
With the increased use of online platforms for transactions and certain operations, the SC reminded intermediaries to heighten their cyber risk management protocols and have in place robust business continuity measures to mitigate the impact of potential disruptions in these times of crisis.
“The SC will continue to closely monitor its intermediaries to ensure that trading and orderly market operations are maintained to facilitate issuers, market participants and investors in managing their risks and opportunities during this period,” it added.
— Bernama
