Ferrell Asset Management, a specialist fund manager with high net worth and family office clients in Europe and Asia, contravened the Securities and Futures (Licensing and Conduct of Business) Regulations, with the late submission of Form 25 in 2006, 2010 and 2011, the regulator said.
The rules stipulate that a regulated firm must file Form 25 with the MAS within 14 days of the end of its financial year. Required information includes the company’s assets under management, and the number of qualified investors for whom it undertakes fund management activity.
As well as the Form 25 breach, the MAS said Ferrell also failed to submit Form 23 in a timely fashion in 2010 and 2011, thereby contravening the Financial Advisers Regulations. Required data on Form 23 includes the number of accredited investors on behalf of whom a company has acted.
This is the second time in 2012 that an advisory firm has been warned for repeatedly breaching the Form 25 rule. As International Adviser reported in January, Frontier Wealth Management was slapped on the wrist for contravening the regulation on four occasions.
In a statement regarding the latest breach, the MAS said: “All financial institutions should comply with all relevant reporting requirements by submitting their statutory forms within the time period stipulated under the law.
“The Authority may take such breaches into account when considering actions to be taken for any future contravention of the applicable laws and regulatory requirements, or in the assessment of any future applications for licences or registrations.”
