Fee Review To Ensure SC's Long-term Financial Sustainability - Chairman
KUALA LUMPUR, April 22 (Bernama) -- The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) said its recent fee review aims to ensure the regulator’s long-term financial sustainability, given its current revenue structure is closely tied to market activity.
Its chairman Datuk Mohammad Faiz Azmi said the commission’s income remains largely variable because levies are based on the value of transactions in the capital market.
"We have not changed it in 30 years. I think it is only fair that we do this now, and to be clear, we are not (doing this) for profit," he told reporters at the SC Annual Report 2025 briefing here today.
Muhammad Faiz said the additional revenue would be used to improve efficiency, including through greater use of technology.
SC managing director Datin Paduka Azalina Adham said the levy-based structure exposes the SC to volatility as revenue fluctuates with market conditions while core regulatory functions remain constant.
She said supervision, enforcement and investigation work did not vary with market cycles, making a revenue model heavily dependent on trading activity less sustainable.
As such, the review also seeks to rebalance the fee structure by incorporating elements of fixed and annual fees to reduce reliance on market-driven volatility, she added.
The SC revised fee structure comes into force on Jan 1, 2026.
To facilitate a smooth industry transition, the SC will implement a three-year transitional period from 2026 to 2028, during which a 50 per cent reduction will apply to variable annual fees, while a 20 per cent reduction will be applied to transaction fees related to products, fund-raising activities and other product-related fees.
The concessions will also apply to annual fees payable for unit trust funds and wholesale funds, which will be subject to a 20 per cent reduction.
Meanwhile, Azalina said the SC is on track to achieve RM2 billion in assets under management (AUM) under its Single-Family Office (SFO) Incentive Framework by end-2026.
She said the commission has received healthy expressions of interest, with applications currently undergoing vetting by the Finance Ministry.
“We are comfortable to achieve that figure (RM2 billion). More applications have been submitted to the Finance Ministry,” Azalina said, noting that applicants were required to establish key structures, including family governance frameworks and trust arrangements, before formally submitting their applications.
To date, nine conditional approvals have been granted, representing nearly RM670 million in indicative AUM.
-- BERNAMA