Monetary Authority of Singapore finalises its Best Execution regime

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (“MAS”) has now finalised its ‘Best Execution’ regulatory regime, having issued its new Notice SFA 04-N16 on Execution of Customers’ Orders and accompanying Guidelines on 3 September 2020. The MAS has also issued its response to industry feedback on the regime, which was initially consulted on in November 2017. 

In short, the Best Execution regime requires holders of a capital markets services licence, banks, merchant banks, and finance companies dealing in capital markets products, fund management and/or real estate investment trust management under the Securities and Futures Act (Cap. 289 of Singapore) to establish and implement written policies and procedures that are commensurate with the nature, scale and complexity of its business to place and/or execute customers’ orders on the best available terms, and comparable customers’ orders in accordance with the time of receipt. The regime will take effect on 3 March 2022. 

We set in this alert further detail on the implementation of the regime, and briefly examine similar requirements in Hong Kong SAR, and in the European Union and United Kingdom.