Posted inRegulation

Farringdon gets asset management licence for Singapore

Farringdon Asset Management, part of the Malaysia-based Farringdon Group, has received a licence to operate in Singapore where it will focus on focus on providing expat clients with discretionary portfolio management services.

The wealth management company said it was awarded a Capital and Market Service licence by the Monetary Authority of Singapore on 7 October 2016.

Martin Young, one of the founders of Farringdon Group and FAM’s chief executive, said the company believed the asset management licence was better fit for the company’s business model in Singapore rather than a financial adviser licence.

“The Singapore financial advice market is heavily focused on long-term contractual insurance plans and historically Farringdon Group has generated less than 10% of its revenue from such policies,” Young said.

Expat DFM provider

“The company has always focused on providing discretionary portfolio services, for single premium investments and felt that in Singapore the asset management license was a better fit for our business model.

“We see a lot of potential in Singapore, as there are no other company’s able to offer the kinds of services that we do in the expatriate space. As a financial hub we find Singapore investors are quite sophisticated and tend to shy away from the traditional IFA model, which is based on portfolios of managed funds,” he said.

Stuart Yeomans, Farringdon’s marketing director, said: “We also have a number of big announcements in the coming few months, which will certainly shake up the investment sector throughout Asia and we believe that our business model will be pioneering a few new ideas that the market has not yet seen, but sorely needs.

“It will be interesting to see how other firms react when we come to market with our new strategies and offer advice in a unique and lower cost format,” he added.

Part of the Mark Allen Group.