Thailand’s asset management industry is voted the third best in the world, according to a global investor survey, behind US and South Korea
May 17, 2013 Leave a comment
Thai fund industry ranked 3rd in the world
The Nation May 17, 2013 2:05 pm
Thailand’s asset management industry is voted the third best in the world, according to a global investor survey announced today by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Thailand follows the US and South Korea. It scores well in terms on regulatory framework and tax structure and improvement in selling activities and intermediary role. Yet, Thailand still has to improve some areas, particularly the information disclosure. Morningstar’s survey covers investors in 24 countries, ranked Thailand at the “B” level, putting it on par with the Netherlands, Singapore and Taiwan. This is chiefly thanks to tax incentives like capital gain tax waiver and tax deduction on investment in long-term mutual funds.This raised the scores in the regulatory and tax category above the average level. However, some limitations need to be addressed, like the ones on local funds’ overseas investment and the direct offering of overseas funds to Thai investors. In the fee and expense category, the scores are higher than the average., as most funds do not levy fees on unit trust transactions. In the disclosure category, Thailand wins a moderate score. Absent from Thai funds’ prospectus are trading cost, the names of fund managers and their experiences as well as investment data of the funds under the managers’ control. Thailand scores the lowest points in the selling and intermediary category, though the 2013 result is better than the previous year. Most funds are now sold via bank branches, limiting access for some investors. Less than 20 per cent of mutual funds is sold through non-bank channels. “The research reflects the continued development in the Thai asset management industry. There is still much to be done, though,” said SEC Secretary-General Vorapol Socatiyanurak.
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