The following updates are examinable from 1 March 2024
TOPIC 1 – GENERAL REGULATORY FRAMEWORK
Distributors and Fund Managers Engaging in Activities Related to Virtual Assets
- The SFC regulates the trading of virtual assets conducted by distributors and fund managers
- A virtual asset is a cryptographically secured digital representation of value:
- that falls within the SFO because it constitutes “securities” as defined in the SFO; or
- that falls within the ambit of the AMLO because it:
- is expressed as a unit of account or a store of economic value
- can be used as a medium of exchange
- can be transferred, stored or traded electronically; and
- satisfies and other characteristics prescribed by the SFC
- Fund management activities could be related to:
- Virtual assets that are securities as defined in the SFO
- Virtual assets that are not securities but fall within the ambit of the SFO
- Virtual assets where the underlying of a futures contracts are virtual assets
- A CIS that is investing in virtual assets
- SFC laws and regulations apply to the foregoing fund management activities
- Licensing requirements will continue to apply to persons who distribute shares or CIS units irrespective of what the CIS invests in, as they are engaged in Type 1 activities
- Virtual Asset Fund Managers, who need to be Type 9 licensed and will be subject to additional terms and conditions, will manage an investment portfolio where either:
- the portfolio investment objective is to invest in virtual assets; or
- the manager intends to invest 10%or more of the gross asset value of the portfolio in virtual assets
TOPIC 2 – BACK-OFFICE COMPLIANCE
No updates to report
TOPIC 3 – ASSET MANAGEMENT REGULATIONS
No updates to report
TOPIC 4 – MISCONDUCT
No updates to report
