The Singapore Funds Industry Group (SFIG) has launched Fundnode in collaboration with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and funds industry stakeholders. The solution will be owned and operated by Marketnode, a partnership between SGX Group and Temasek.
SFIG has also released code of conduct guidelines with the goal to improve governance standards for investment fund directors. Together, these initiatives will strengthen Singapore’s value as a centre for asset management and fund domiciliation, the company says.
Fundnode aims to improve the efficiency of funds settlement in Singapore, providing a single platform for market participants to connect multiple activities across the settlement process. This reduces the need for manual interventions, and expedites the settlement process.
The solution’s pilot phase will begin next year, initially streamlining fund processes, and facilitating simplified subscription, redemption, and record-keeping workflows for funds offered to retail investors.
Gillian Tan, assistant managing director of development and international operations at MAS and co-chair of the SFIG executive committee, comments: “MAS welcomes the new funds settlement utility and the code of conduct guidelines for fund directors, which were developed through close collaboration between the Singapore Funds Industry Group, MAS and stakeholders in the broader funds ecosystem. MAS looks forward to our continuing partnership with the SFIG to improve the capabilities and competitiveness of Singapore’s fund management industry.”
Kai-Niklas Schneider, managing partner at Clifford Chance and co-chair of the SFIG executive committee, adds: “The launch of Fundnode is a great example of how MAS has harnessed the power of public-private partnerships to enable digitisation and centralised backend processing for retail investment fund trades, thereby improving the efficiency of financial services delivery.”
