The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced the appointment of the first batch of asset managers under the S$5 billion Equity Market Development Programme   (EQDP). MAS and the Financial Sector Development Fund (FSDF) will place an initial amount of S$1.1 billion for management with these appointed managers. MAS has also committed S$50 million to strengthen support for local equity research and to grow a more vibrant listed product ecosystem. In addition, MAS outlined proposals to enhance investors’ ability to seek recourse.

2.  These initiatives build upon the first set of measures   announced by the Equities Market Review Group in February 2025. The set of measures[1] aims to increase investor interest, improve our ecosystem’s attractiveness to quality listings, and adopt a more pro-enterprise regulatory stance while strengthening investor confidence. MAS has since consulted on proposals to streamline prospectus requirements and broaden investor outreach channels for initial public offerings. Today’s announcement provides an update on the ongoing review by the MAS and the Review Group to strengthen the functioning of Singapore’s equities market. The Review Group aims to complete its work and release its final report by end-2025.

MAS sets aside S$1.1 billion from EQDP for the first batch of three appointed asset managers

3.  Since the announcement of the EQDP in February, MAS has received strong interest from the asset management industry in the programme, with indications of interest from over 100 global, regional and local asset managers. MAS is reviewing the submissions in batches to speed up the asset manager appointment and capital deployment process.

4.  MAS has appointed the first three asset managers under the EQDP, and will place a combined initial sum of S$1.1 billion with them, out of the total S$5 billion that has been set aside for EQDP. The asset managers are:

• Avanda Investment Management
• Fullerton Fund Management
• JP Morgan Asset Management

5.  A range of factors was taken into account in selecting the managers, including the alignment of their proposed fund strategies with the EQDP objectives, the strength of their proposals to crowd in third-party capital into their strategies alongside MAS’ funding[2], and their commitments to expand or contribute to the growth of the asset management and research capabilities in Singapore. In particular, the fund strategies should have a clear focus on improving liquidity and broadening participation in Singapore equities, with significant allocation to small- and mid-cap stocks.

6.  MAS is reviewing the remaining submissions and will appoint additional asset managers to manage the remaining funds under the S$5 billion EQDP[3]. The next phase of selection is expected to be announced by 4Q 2025. By investing with a broad range of fund managers employing varied strategies, the EQDP can leverage their distinct investment expertise and distribution networks to attract commercial capital and strengthen market vibrancy. This will help to improve price discovery and trading liquidity in Singapore’s equities market.

MAS commits S$50 million until end-2028 to strengthen equity research and listing support

7.  The Review Group has recommended a shift towards a more disclosure-based regime in its first set of measures. In tandem with this shift, it is important to enhance the quality of equity research as a complementary measure. This facilitates price discovery and fair valuation of companies, and enables investors to make informed and timely decisions. Industry feedback has indicated that research coverage, particularly in the small- and mid-cap segment, could be improved. More efforts can also be made to engage younger investors through digital media channels, and to expand upstream research coverage of pre-IPO companies to support potential IPOs.

8.  To complement the Review Group’s overall efforts to enhance the vibrancy of our markets and broaden investor participation, MAS will set aside S$50 million from the FSDF to enhance the Grant for Equity Market Singapore (GEMS) Scheme. This will strengthen the equity research ecosystem, and complement the supply side initiatives to grow the listed product suite in Singapore. The GEMS Scheme will also be extended till 31 December 2028[4].

a) The Research Development Grant under GEMS will be enhanced to provide:

• Additional funding of S$1,000 for each research report, with a further S$1,000 if the report is an initiation of research coverage[5] or covers pre-IPO stage and newly-listed companies. This brings the maximum funding from S$4,000 (current) to S$6,000 (enhanced) per research report[6]. This enhanced funding aims to boost investor awareness and trading interest in under-researched segments, particularly small- and mid-cap enterprises.
• New grant funding for research houses to defray costs of research dissemination via digital media. The expanded grant support aims to broaden investor outreach and engagement, especially among younger investors who consume information via digital channels.
• New funding to support research on private companies with strong local presence, to foster investor familiarity and build a pipeline of potential listings. Applicants seeking funding for research on private companies may submit proposals to MAS for consideration.

b) The Listing Grant under GEMS will also be expanded to enhance product diversity and trading liquidity in Singapore. This will comprise:

• A new funding sleeve to cover Singapore Depository Receipts (SDRs) and foreign Depository Receipts (DR) with underlying Singapore stocks, providing S$40,000 per DR issuance. This aims to increase overall trading interest and liquidity in Singapore, while broadening the global investor base for Singapore equities.
• Increasing the overall funding per primary listed ETF, from S$100,000 to S$250,000. A new funding sleeve will also support cross-listed and feeder ETFs at S$180,000 per listing. This will facilitate more ETF listings in Singapore, adding to the range of listed investment products to provide more investor choice.

The enhancements to the GEMS Scheme will complement the other initiatives, including the EQDP, to raise investor interest and trading liquidity, and position Singapore to support more quality listings. Interested applicants may refer to the MAS website for more information.

Measures to strengthen investor protection through enhancing investor recourse avenues

9.  In shifting towards a more disclosure-based regime, there is also a need to consider additional measures to strengthen investor protection through enhancing investor recourse avenues. Specifically, investors should be able to seek civil recourse should there be losses suffered due to market misconduct. Currently, there have been feedback and observations that retail investors seem to face friction in commencing civil action – such as difficulty in self-organising, and finding sufficient funds for legal advice.

10.  Facilitating investors to seek civil recourse is therefore important to bolstering investor confidence, maintaining market integrity and upholding the reputation of Singapore’s capital markets. In doing so, there is also a need to address concerns of frivolous legal actions that would unduly burden the market, by putting in place appropriate safeguards. In line with the Review Group’s guidance, MAS has identified three areas of focus and will consult on proposals later this year:

a) Enabling pursuit of legal action – MAS will consult on proposals to enhance existing legal provisions that enable investors to ride on a court action or civil penalty to seek compensation. This is intended to reduce the burden on investors when pursuing civil recourse action.

b) Facilitating self-organisation – MAS will consult on proposals to allow for representatives to organise and carry out legal action on behalf of investors. This is intended to facilitate not-for-profit assistance to investors, including by organisations such as the Securities Investors Association Singapore (SIAS). MAS will consult on the criteria for such representatives, to reduce the risk of potential profiteering behaviour and vexatious litigation.

c) Providing access to funding – MAS will consult on setting up a grant scheme to defray the costs of organising investors and taking legal action for cases involving market misconduct. This aims to reduce cost barriers that deter investors from seeking compensation through civil action.
More measures and progress to be announced later this year

11.  The Review Group continues to review other initiatives to enhance Singapore’s equities market. These include measures to uplift companies’ shareholder engagement capabilities, strengthen the value proposition and attractiveness of Catalist board, enhance market-making mechanisms to promote deeper liquidity and price discovery, reduce board lot sizes to facilitate wider retail investor access, enhance efficiency of post-trade custody arrangements, and develop cross-border partnerships.

12.  To complement the Review Group’s work, the Corporate Governance Advisory Committee has also begun a review[7] of the Code of Corporate Governance to continue upholding high standards of corporate governance.

Source: MAS