Conduct for Capital Market Intermediaries and Vulnerable Clients (SC Guidelines)
The Securities Commission first issued its Guidelines on Conduct for Capital Market Intermediaries at the end of 2021 and revised them on 29 March 2024, with the revised guidelines in force from 1 October 2024. The revision reinforces the role of the board and senior management in building a culture where clients' interests come first, clarifies the duty to act honestly and fairly and never to mislead or deceive clients, and adds new chapters on the treatment of vulnerable clients and on providing personal advice and capital market services, including through online platforms. The SC has published frequently asked questions alongside the revised guidelines.
This one-day course is for client advisers, relationship managers, dealers' representatives, unit trust and PRS consultants, product and marketing teams, compliance, and the senior managers who now carry clear responsibility for conduct. It covers the guidelines in the order they bite in daily work, with particular attention to spotting and treating vulnerable clients consistently, and to giving advice through apps and online channels. It complements Investment Advertising & Finfluencer Compliance, which covers promotion.
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Programme Agenda
9:00 AM - 9:15 AM
Welcome and Programme Overview
Introduction to the session, objectives, and housekeeping.
9:15 AM - 10:15 AM
The Guidelines and What the 2024 Revision Changed
Scope across capital market intermediaries, the 29 March 2024 revision and its 1 October 2024 effective date, and how conduct expectations connect to licensing and supervision.
10:15 AM - 10:30 AM
Break
10:30 AM - 11:30 AM
Board, Senior Management and Culture
What the SC expects leaders to do to make client interests come first, incentives and remuneration, and the management information that shows whether culture is working.
11:30 AM - 12:30 PM
Honesty, Fairness and Not Misleading Clients
Fair dealing in practice, disclosure, conflicts of interest, suitability, and the grey areas where sales pressure turns into misleading conduct.
12:30 PM - 1:30 PM
Lunch
1:30 PM - 2:20 PM
Identifying and Treating Vulnerable Clients
Indicators of vulnerability such as age, illness, bereavement, financial difficulty and limited literacy, recording and escalating, adjusting the service, and avoiding treating vulnerability as a reason to exclude.
2:20 PM - 3:15 PM
Advice and Services Through Online Platforms
Personal advice delivered through apps and digital channels, suitability and disclosure online, robo-advice, and supervision of digital journeys.
3:15 PM - 3:30 PM
Break
3:30 PM - 4:45 PM
Workshop: Conduct Scenarios
Teams work through realistic scenarios, including an elderly client switching funds under family pressure and an app journey that nudges a high-risk product, and decide what good conduct looks like.
4:45 PM - 5:00 PM
Wrap-Up and Q&A
Key takeaways, next steps, and close.
Key Outcomes
- Explain the revised Conduct Guidelines and their 1 October 2024 effective date
- Describe what board and senior management must do to embed a client-first culture
- Apply honesty, fairness and suitability standards in daily client dealings
- Identify vulnerable clients and adjust treatment consistently and fairly
- Deliver advice through online platforms in line with the guidelines
- Resolve common conduct dilemmas in a way that can be defended
Training Mode Physical / Online / Hybrid / e-learning
HRD Corp SBL-Khas Claimable
Level Foundation. For client advisers, relationship managers, dealers' representatives, unit trust and PRS consultants, product, marketing and compliance staff, and senior managers at capital market intermediaries.
Duration 1 Day (8 Hours) | 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Venue In-house at the client's premises, or delivered via the client's preferred platform (Microsoft Teams, Zoom, or equivalent)
Assessment Conduct scenarios worked in the session, plus a written knowledge check
Certificate Certificate of Completion issued to all participants upon full attendance