

Eliza ong now registration#

There isn’t a particular need to create complex new products for the different markets. We have also identified global partners to work with.” “They cover developed markets and are multi-asset. “A couple of the products that we intend to launch are already in the pipeline,” she explains. The firm has identified a couple of its flagship funds to prepare for passporting initially. “Passporting allows us to showcase our products to our neighbours, namely Singapore and Thailand, and of course to Malaysia and Thailand from Singapore,” she adds. RHB OSK Asset Management’s ability to now complement its regional presence with a cross-border product offering will help clients to manage their portfolios with more confidence and flexibility, says Ong. Given the diversification of clients’ assets by geography and the offshore nature of their businesses in many cases, such coverage is essential in providing the advice they need, she adds. “Our group has a presence in nine countries, and we pride ourselves on our ability to grow with our clients,” explains Ong. They are therefore looking regionally first – and then globally – for products to suit their circumstances. However, says Singapore-based Ong, with growth in their wealth, investors are getting more sophisticated in terms of their portfolio needs. Local knowledge, local presence and local access to key players and product providers is crucial for growing the business. The firm already has strong conviction in the value it brings to clients as a regional player. “We are looking at within our group, so that the products have a certain scale and reach a broader investor base as well as the new distributors working with us regionally,” says Eliza Ong, regional head of group asset management at RHB OSK Asset Management. Now, asset managers in Asia are anticipating growth in a new way, via a larger pool of investors than previously available, yet with the same level of protection as in their home market. The standards have been established to ensure that participating fund managers have the necessary experience and track record in managing retail funds offered under the framework. The framework allows the units of an ASEAN CIS authorised in its home jurisdiction to be offered in the other host ASEAN jurisdictions under a streamlined authorisation process, provided that the ASEAN CIS satisfies the set of specified common standards.

On August 25 2014, regulators in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand finally launched the ASEAN CIS Framework to facilitate cross-border offers of collective investment schemes (CIS) to retail investors. It took around four years for something similar to come to Asia, following demand from fund managers in the region for a similar type of vehicle. The European Union implemented UCITS (Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities) in 2010 to simplify the cross-border distribution of funds and standardise the relevant documentation. Eliza Ong, regional head of group asset management at RHB OSK Asset Management, explains her firm's strategy to make the most of passporting. Asset managers in Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia are excited about the opportunity for growth in the wake of the launch of the ASEAN CIS framework in August 2014.
