There are those who believe that in this day and age all one needs to do to find what they are looking for is to ?Google it?, however the internet is full of misleading posts and blogs from all kinds of people for various reasons says Richard Cayne of Meyer Asset Management Ltd.
Particularly in Asia where regulatory bodies governing financial related firms do not usually do as thorough a job as they should. Richard Cayne of Meyer suggests the saying -In principle but not in practice- holds very true in Asia. For example in Tokyo Japan where Richard Cayne had worked for over 15 years as private financial advisor to many wealthy Japanese individuals the Japan FSA and securities and exchange commission are only really interested in the larger institutions and as such turn a blind eye to somewhat grey practices that go on with respect to financial instruments and exchange law licensed firms. Just because you have a drivers license doesn?t mean you are allowed to drive 150 mph and in the same way many financial firms there claiming to be licensed are and they are also overstepping the boundaries of what their license permits them to do.
Richard Cayne of Meyer Asset Management Ltd explains how Meyer Asset Management KK in Tokyo Japan was one of the first relatively small financial firms to ever receive an inspection from the regulators which is completely routine and they are supposed to in theory do on a regular basis ever 3-4 years but the regulators simply don?t put much efforts into looking at smaller firms.
As new laws were being created which would prohibit the solicitation or intermediation between Japanese residents and offshore funds which are not registered in Japan with the FSA for sale there Meyer Asset Management Ltd had decided to close its operation there to be in full compliance with all regulations. Richard Cayne goes on to say that just like UBS, Credit Suisse and all the other major offshore wealth managers he had decided that it would be best to be in full compliance with the laws of Japan. One can see that all the major banks and wealth managers who used to have an International presence in Tokyo Japan no longer have one because of their new laws. They only have their domestic operations there with none of their international products or services due to the above regulations.
Meyer International Ltd the Asian based servicing arm of Meyer Asset Management Ltd now service all existing Japanese and Asian based clients which is in full cooperation with the Japanese regulators. A warning was recently announced by the Japanese FSA and Securities and Exchange Commission that the regulators there no longer will tolerate any sale or intermediation of any investment not registered in Japan for sale. So whether the financial product is based in the UK, Isle of Man, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Singapore, Canada, Cayman Islands, BVI or even the USA to name a few it MUST also be registered for sale in Japan. Richard Cayne was advised by the Securities and Exchange Commission to inform all fund houses and investment companies wishing to market their products into Japan that they need to have their respective products registered there with the regulators and not to grey market them.
There are certainly a few intermediaries left in Japan who market unregistered overseas investment products to residents of Japan but they have all been made aware they do run a risk of being reprimanded by the regulators if they are caught doing so. Some still take the chance and even promote online that they are able to do so because they have a license from the FSA which is clearly misleading says Richard Cayne of Meyer International Ltd. Anyone wishing to confirm the validity of this would be advised to contact the regulators as they have free hotlines to ask such questions and they will state that there is no provision to allow any company, consultant, advisor to sell, intermediate or solicit a financial product not registered in Japan through the FSA with a Japanese resident.
The above is an example of how online search can be very misleading and one would be advised to check with their council or regulators before making large investments.
Richard Cayne is Managing Director of the Meyer Group of companies which is part of Asia Wealth Group Holdings ltd a London UK stock market listed financial services holding company.
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