The ongoing charges figure represents the sum of ongoing expenses, which include regulatory fees, management fees, investment advisory fees, custodian fees, payments to outsourced service providers and others.
Currently, the disclosure of that information in the KFS and on the firm’s website is optional for SFC-authorised funds, according to the circular.
Fund managers are given a transition period of six months, starting 4 July, to implement the regulation.
In addition to ongoing charges, past performance data will also be required on the KFS and on the firm’s website, the SFC said.
The move is part of SFC’s ongoing efforts to enhance transparency and disclosure requirements of retail fund products. It aims to bring them in line with the disclosure requirements in other major overseas jurisdictions, such as the US and Singapore, as well as those of funds issued under the Ucits regime, the regulator said.
The SFC has recently released other proposals and initiatives aimed at Hong Kong’s fund management industry. For example, it launched a consultation paper last week proposing to relax rules on determining whether a person is a high net-worth professional investor, as reported.
In December, it also released a circular about the manager-in-charge initiative, which outlines new measures that will require all members of a firm’s senior management team to take on legal liability of the firm.
Fund managers can access the guidelines for the disclosure and calculation of the ongoing charges figure and past performance in the circular on the SFC’s website.
