The Capital Markets Authority (CMA) has licensed two more fund managers bringing the number to 40.
Arvocap Asset Managers Limited and Myxeno Investment Management Limited were cleared to operate as fund managers after meeting the requirements of the Capital Markets Act and Regulations.
CMA has also licensed Kingdom Securities Limited to operate as an authorised securities dealer. This brings the number of authorised securities dealers to four.
A fund manager is a manager of a collective investment scheme, registered venture capital company or an investment adviser who manages a portfolio of securities in excess of an amount prescribed by the Authority.
An authorised securities dealer on other hand means a person authorised to deal in securities and operate in a specific market segment as may be prescribed by the Authority.
The entry of more fund managers is set to raise competition for assets under management, with the firms earning a fee charged as a fraction of the portfolios they oversee.
CMA Chief Executive Officer Wyckliffe Shamiah said that the licenses will remain in place perpetually unless revoked at the request of either the firm or by the Authority.
‘‘The willingness of new market players to come under regulatory supervision provides confidence to investors and constitutes a critical function that we carry out to ensure that the conduct of licensees is aligned to our regulatory framework and international standards,” said Shamiah.
Furthermore, the licensees’ customer-facing staff will be required to undertake the Securities Industry Certification Programme (SICP) within a year from the date of licensing.
As at July this year retail investors who have saved in collective investment schemes have seen a significant increase, with the number of retail investors holding such holdings increasing to 257,166 as of September 2022, a more than three-fold increase from 84,050 a decade before.
