SINGAPORE – The Monetary Authority of Singapore said on Thursday it was seeking feedback on a proposed regulatory framework for retail investors to invest in private market investment funds.
Singapore’s central bank said in a statement the move followed signs of growing interest from retail investors in such funds, and from industry players in offering them.
Under the current regulatory framework for funds, retail investors in Singapore have limited access to private market investments.
Private market investments include private equity, private credit and infrastructure, which are usually less liquid than public market investments, such as equities, meaning it could be less easy for retail investors to access their funds.
The MAS said it had proposed a long-term investment fund or LIF framework for private market investment funds, adapting existing fund requirements to suit the characteristics of private market investment funds and the needs of retail investors when investing in them.
The two possible fund structures proposed are direct funds, which make direct private market investments, and long-term investment fund-of-funds that primarily invest in other private market investment funds, MAS said.
It said the proposal complemented measures by Singapore’s equities market review group to rejuvenate the country’s equities market.
“It will equip investors with a wider variety of choices in building well-diversified portfolios, while also creating a pathway for the potential listing of private market investment funds,” MAS said, adding the deadline for feedback was May 26.
(Reporting by Yantoultra Ngui; Editing by Mark Potter)
