The types of financial advisory services regulated under the FAA are as follows:

a) advising others concerning any investment product;
b) issuing or promulgating analyses or reports concerning any investment product;
c) marketing of any collective investment scheme including unit trusts; and
d) arranging of any contract of insurance in respect of life policies.

The regulated activities are defined in the FAA available on MAS’ website.

Except for those who are specifically exempted, any corporation which carries on the business of providing any of the financial advisory services under the FAA is required to obtain a financial adviser [“FA”]’s licence. Any individual who provides financial advisory services on behalf of a licensed FA or exempt FA under section 23(1)(a) to (e) must be appointed as its appointed or provisional representative, unless otherwise exempted. For information on exemptions/exclusions from licensing, please refer to the FAA, Financial Advisers Regulations and the FAQs.

A corporation that wishes to apply for a FA licence may refer to the Guidelines on Criteria for the Grant of a Financial Adviser’s Licence (Guideline No. FAA-G01) and the Guidelines on Licence Applications, Representative Notification and Payment of Fees (Guideline No. CMG-G01) available in the Licensing Guide on MAS’ Website.

Individuals who wish to provide financial advisory services on behalf of a licensed financial adviser or a bank, merchant bank, insurer, reinsurer or insurance intermediary exempted from licensing under section 23(1)(a) to (e) of the FAA is required to be appointed as an appointed or provisional representative under the Representative Notification Framework. The principal company which intends to appoint the individual would need to notify MAS of such appointment and certify that the individual is fit and proper via the Corporations and Representatives System [“CoRe system”].

For an individual who wishes to be appointed as an appointed or provisional representative, you could refer to the Guidelines on Licence Applications, Representative Notification and Payment of Fees (Guideline No. CMG-G01), the Notice on Minimum Entry and Examination Requirements for Representatives of Licensed Financial Advisers and Exempt Financial Advisers (Notice No. FAA-N13) and the Notice on Entry Requirements of a Provisional Representative (Notice No. FAA-N12), and the Guidelines on Fit and Proper Criteria (Guideline No. FSG-G01). As such appointment requires the support of your principal company, you should check with your principal company if you have any queries.

The aforementioned notices and guidelines can be found in the Licensing Guide on MAS’ website.

MAS will take approximately 4 months to process and approve an application. To expedite the review process, an applicant should satisfy itself that it fully meets the admission criteria, and has ensured that the application is complete, free of errors or inconsistencies, and is accompanied by the requisite supporting documents as stated in the application form.

 

MAS reserves the right not to process an application or to terminate the processing of an application where the applicant is unable to meet the admission criteria, when there are significant information gaps or inconsistencies, or when the applicant is unable to satisfactorily address MAS’ queries in a timely manner. The applicant may re-submit a fresh application to MAS when it is ready to do so.

For more FAQs, you may refer to this link, including questions about minimum entry and examination requirements for representatives of a Financial Adviser.