Persatuan Wakil Peniaga Saham Malaysia
PERSAMA ANNUAL REPORT 2015
Contents
1. PERSAMA’s 39th ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING & LUNCH – pg 2
2. NOTICE OF THE 39th ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING – pg 3
3. PERSAMA PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE – pg 4-7
4. The minutes of the 38th AGM held on Saturday, 13th Dec 2014 – pg 8-10
5. Details of Meetings/Briefings/Dialogues held for the year 2014/2015, pg 11
6. PERSAMA’s COMMITTEE MEMBERS – 2014-2015, pg 12
7. Nomination for office-bearers 2015/2016, pg 13
8. Appendix – Amend constitution , pg 14
Note: PERSAMA is not sending any hard copy or email to non-registered members. The ROS allows sending AGM report through webmail to the registered members from this year 2014 onwards. This is a computer generated report and signature is not required through webmail.
PERSAMA 38th ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING & LUNCH
Annual General Meeting
Date : 5TH December 2015, Saturday
Venue: Royal Commonwealth Society, No. 4, Jalan Birah, Damansara Heights, KL
Time : 2.00 p.m. (AGM - Registration), 2.15 p.m. (AGM)
Lunch : Free Lunch provided for Paid Members and Remisiers who sign up as a member
Venue: Royal Commonwealth Society, swimming pool area, No. 4, Jalan Birah, Damansara Heights, KL
Time : Refreshment after 11.30am, lunch at 12.15 pm
Our Committee hopes that all members will turn up in full force to make this event a success. To assist your Committee in organising this function, your co-operation is sought in replying through email to by 2nd December 2015.
Thank you.
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LOO BOON HOW
HONORARY SECRETARY
23rd November 2015
NOTICE OF THE 39th ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the 39th Annual General Meeting of the Persatuan Wakil Peniaga Saham Malaysia (PERSAMA) will be held on Saturday, 5TH December 2015 at 2.15 p.m. at the Royal Commonwealth Society, No. 4, Jalan Birah, Damansara Heights, Kuala Lumpur.
AGENDA
a) To confirm the minutes of the 38th Annual General Meeting held on Saturday, 13th Dec 2014 (Pg 8-10)
b) To receive the President’s Message for 2014/2015 (Pg 4-7)
c) To elect the Committee of PERSAMA for the ensuing year of 2015/2016.
d) To receive and approve the Audited Annual Accounts for the year ended 31st August 2015.
e) To elect Two Internal Auditors for 2015/2016.
f) To transact any business or special matter which the outgoing Committee may desire to bring before this meeting. (Appendix 1).
g) To transact any business or matter of which at least seven day’s notice in writing has been given by the member to the Secretary provided that no such matter or business shall be discussed if the member wishing to raise it fails to attend the meeting.
......
LOO BOON HOW
HONORARY SECRETARY
Dated : 23rd November 2015
PRESIDENT’S REPORT
Dear Members,
Many older remisiers still have fond memories of the era of remisiers many years ago when it was a promising career to pursue. Since then the industry landscape has changed so much that today, majority of us have to face a career prospect that appears dimmer by the day. Sound depressing. But this is the reality. Lately you probably have heard of broking firms asking underperformed remisiers to resign. And things are not going to change for the better in the foreseeable future if what PERSAMA has gathered from the three industry dialogues with the SC in the past three years is an indication.
In our last dialogue with the SC in August 2015, the SC indicated without ambiguity its hands-off approach with the brokerage rates after the three remisier Associations wanted the SC’s official stand regarding standardized brokerage rates (SBR), which to us is the most important issue. They practically shut the door on the discussion of SBR.
They subscribe to the belief that rate liberalization will make stockbroking industry competitive and that free market will enable the industry to eventually find a level SC is comfortable with. In other words the industry can resolve the issue with regards to the level of brokerage rates it charges for either broker or non-broker assisted trades, short of saying that they may try to implement full range of negotiable brokerage without balancing to create value on the retail intermediary level even though the SC always say we are important to them.
We are not surprised by this textbook kind of thinking as we know the SC had little if any experience in share trading. By not showing interest or getting involved in brokerage rate strategy discussion, the SC errs on not using this important stock market trading strategy to neutralize the different level of trading conflicts from among the investors, namely retail as well as institutional participants, including hedge fund raiders or syndicates to form a more healthy trading liquidity as part of the stock market framework prerequisite.
This hands-off attitude of the SC management shows its unwillingness to search for an optimal point within the economic dynamics of the market demand and supply curve to fix an orderly brokerage rate so as to balance the equity’s intrinsic value within its trading curve. Their argument is that market forces are a better method to resolve market issues for the Government since 2008. But in reality the economic benefit it can garner for the public is very little other than inflating market capitalization since 2008.
Now knowing that brokerage rate strategy is not on the SC’s agenda, remisiers can see how difficult the task has been for the Association in the last few years since 2008 to fight for you this sensitive issue which is filled with conflicting business interest.
To be honest, I must say that we have failed to lobby the idea on behalf of the industry as well as Public. The authority had just refused to acknowledge the importance of this strategy implicit to the retail intermediary roles and create value on retail intermediary level. Our work on the brokerage rate strategy to safeguard your interest cannot progress any further unless and until there arepoliticians from the MOF department who are willing to help sort out this mess as pointed out in the CMTF.
All in all, since PM announced the Mid-Cap promotion in 2013, the market performed like a bull until mid- 2014 when volatility set in due to oil price and ringgit slump. Market volume however, has maintained well into 2015. But have we seen clear signs of increase in retail participation so far? Hardly. We brought up this issue to the SC during the 2015 dialogue also to highlight that our market has been structured to favour institutional trades.
Ironically despite the huge daily turnover on Bursa, remisiers’ income remains meagre while some brokerage firms have started to lay off 50% of their senior staffs to cut cost. With the SC modifying retail market framework strategy similar to modifying footing in high rise building, return from capital gainon personal investment from Mid-Cap has turned out to be better than brokerage income earned from clients for some remisiers as I have mentioned in the last two years.
BURSA ISSUES: Retail participants are still lacking in trading participation after the new CEO appointment
After the CDS leakage news was reported in the media last year, Bursa management got very upset. They then solved it quietly and as such our relationship with their management has turned sour. Currently, Bursa management seems to be happy with the practice of high trading turnover to create market liquidity for the public. Moreover, the heavy fines on the first half of 2015 on remisiers for their allegedly wrong trading practice to contribute market liquidity looked irrational in some cases, which is a total disregard of the role of retail intermediary.
For remisiers reprimanded by Bursa for wrongdoing, Pribumi and Persama made a proposal during the SC industry dialogue 2015 to allow them to have legal representation right during the investigation interview by Market Participant Committee (MPC) and proceeding review by Appeals Committee. We would like the SC to have the final veto right on the judgment decision by Bursa about the punishment. Unfortunately, what we received from the Dialogue minutes 2015 from the SC was that they would prefer we engage directly with Bursa over this kind of matter.
The SC is in charge of the Acts and isasuperior to Bursa when reviewing any business unfriendly rules in Bursa that may affect market or industry activity. Unfortunately, I am really disappointed that everybody seems to be passing the ball around.
SC Annual Dialogue implication-- With the SC finally stating its stand on the possibility of reviewing the brokerage rate strategy, there is no hope for any non-members or individual who wish to bring up the issue directly to the SC if the Association as a body has failed to do so for the remisiers.
We welcome brainstorming from every one of you who has a stake in this career. You need to stand firm with PERSAMA with regards to this brokerage rate strategy issue. At this point in time, there is no one in Putrajaya who is more familiar with this retail intermediary trading strategy than us to deal with the regulatory body in charge of our affairs and MOF will always follow the view of SC. So members can never give it up and lobby Putrajaya to retain a creative value for the level of retail intermediary among market intermediaries.
The National Government Policy and Budget 2016– PM appointed two Trustees in PEMANDU who are not very friendly to care for our retail intermediary function in its core strategic Department in December 2014. One is former SC Chairman who always preferred to liberalize brokerage rate since 2008. Many European countries have gone through economic struggle after liberalizing their equity market framework. The other one is also a liberalized banker from commercial banking industry. Their policy stance is leaning more towards institutions, giving less attention to the interest of retail investors. Both are more interested in promoting FinTech (Finance Technology) products through government endorsement for any business interest or party of their interest which wishes to do business in financial services industry.
As I see it, our conflict with the related Authority on this issue critical to our industry will have to continue for many more years to come as I doubt our lobbied paper can reach PM for his acceptance with the recent political development. Without paying attention to this level of retail intermediary interest from Putrajaya, I am certain anyone who is to be PM in this multi-racial society have less hope to make the public benefit effectively from stock market performance once retail intermediary function is dismissed.
The Budget 2016 did not announce any issue related to our industry.
Acknowledgment–
I would like to thank members who have been supportive of PERSAMA all these years. As a token of appreciation I will propose in the AGM that annual fee for 2015-2016 to be waived. Because of your unselfishness for standing solidly behind the Association, non-members have also benefited.
On behalf of PERSAMA, I encourage Members to stand firm and attend the AGM to share some of the undisclosed information and challenge you may have with others during refreshment time. If I am still elected this coming year, I will play a more passive role for PERSAMA since the SC has already shown its stand. Meantime nothing can be done on the rate issue until the existing politicians are willingly to understand The Capital Market Task Force (CMTF) agenda or someone in PERSAMA with good political connection replaces me for the interest of members and industry.
Sincerely
Sam Ng Soon Lee (20-11-2015)
Note: Please do not circulate our report to anyone who can be a risk to our professional interest.
The minutes of the 38th AGM held on Saturday, 13th December 2014
Minutes of the 38th Annual General Meeting of the Persatuan Wakil Peniaga Saham Malaysia held on the 13th of December 2014 at 2.00 p.m. at the Royal Commonwealth Society, No 4, Jalan Birah, Damansara Heights, Kuala Lumpur. There were 37 members attending the meeting fulfilling the quorum for commencing the meeting at 2.15p.m.
AGENDA
a) To confirm minutes of the 37th AGM held on Saturday ,7th December 2013
The minutes were proposed to be adopted by Mr Chew of Am Investment Bank and seconded by Johnny of PM Securities.
b) To receive the President’s Message for 2013/14
-- In his opening speech, President touched on the AEC (Asean Economic Community) whose mission was to liberalise financial service industry including brokerage rate. He said beware of the agenda as currently our rates were semi negotiable.
-- Sam said Bursa was less relevant to retail intermediary service likes us as far as far as market policy matter regarding to our functions was concerned. Although SC also handled policy matter if the policy will not benefit much to the Public, MOF could override it. Hence to address our issues more effectively, PERSAMA’s papers had been also sent to the MOF to review this area of market policy as the number of retail participants are not improved significantly even though SC or Bursa has claimed the credit that they have done the best.
-- SC Industry Dialogue: Secretary Loo, committee members Chan and Choo took turn to brief member’s feedback they got from the dialogue. Choo stressed that the dialogue was just a normal annual affair held before the Budget.