The Securities and Futures Act 2001 (SFA) — Singapore

Official text

Securities and Futures Act 2001 (Singapore Statutes Online, current revised edition)

Status

in force, as amended — SSO revised edition is the current consolidated text

Jurisdiction

Singapore

Type

primary law

This page

summary only — the linked Act is the source

The SFA is Singapore's main capital-markets statute. The two things that matter most to funds sit inside it. One is the licensing regime a fund manager needs (a capital markets services licence for fund management, or the LFMC / RFMC framework). The other is the collective-investment-scheme rules. They decide whether and how fund units can be offered to investors in Singapore. Everything else provides the surrounding perimeter: market operators, market conduct (insider dealing, manipulation), disclosure and the enforcement powers MAS uses. For a manager choosing Singapore, the SFA says what authorisation you need. It also says on what terms you can raise.

Scope and what matters for funds

Two SFA pillars drive fund structuring. First, fund-management licensing. Carrying on fund management in Singapore requires a capital markets services (CMS) licence. It is delivered through the Licensed and Registered Fund Management Company (LFMC / RFMC) framework MAS built on the SFA. The route depends on your investor type and AUM. Second, the collective investment scheme regime. Units in a CIS may only be offered under the Act's authorisation (for retail) or recognition (for foreign) requirements, or an exemption. Around these sit the market-conduct and disclosure provisions. The full section text is searchable clause-by-clause through the Graph of rules and ask-the-law. Note that the SFA is a large, heavily-amended statute. Read a specific section against the live SSO text before relying on it.

In practice: the SFA sets the statutory perimeter. The operative detail for fund managers lives in MAS's subsidiary legislation and guidelines (the SF(LCB) Regulations, the LFMC/RFMC requirements, the Code on Collective Investment Schemes). Treat the Act as the frame and the MAS instruments as the operating manual.

Practical guide: Hong Kong and Singapore retail fund rules: SFC and MAS codes.