Kuala lumpur: The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC): announced its recent fee review as a strategic move to secure the regulator's long-term financial sustainability, as its current revenue structure heavily relies on market activity.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the commission's chairman, Datuk Mohammad Faiz Azmi, emphasized that the SC's income remains largely variable due to levies based on transaction values 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 stated during the SC Annual Report 2025 briefing.
Datuk Mohammad Faiz further highlighted that the additional revenue generated would be directed towards improving efficiency, particularly through increased use of technology. SC managing director, Datin Paduka Azalina Adham, noted that the existing levy-based structure exposes the SC to revenue fluctuations tied to market conditions, while core regulatory functions remain constant.
She explained that supervision, enforcement, and investigation activities do not vary with market cycles, making a revenue model that heavily depends on trading activity unsustainable. The review aims to rebalance the fee structure by introducing fixed and annual fees, reducing dependence on market-driven volatility, she added.
The revised fee structure will be implemented on January 1, 2026. To ease the industry transition, a three-year transitional period from 2026 to 2028 will see a 50% reduction in variable annual fees and a 20% reduction in transaction fees related to products, fund-raising activities, and other product-related fees. These concessions will also apply to annual fees for unit trust funds and wholesale funds, subject to a 20% reduction.
Meanwhile, Azalina stated that the SC is on track to achieve RM2 billion in assets under management (AUM) under its Single-Family Office (SFO) Incentive Framework by the end of 2026. She reported receiving healthy expressions of interest, with applications currently being vetted by the Finance Ministry.
Azalina expressed confidence in reaching the RM2 billion target, noting that more applications have been submitted to the Finance Ministry. Applicants are 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.