The Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the Private Wealth Management Association yesterday said the PWMA had adopted the Treat Customers Fairly Charter for Private Wealth Management Industry.

Developed by the regulator and trade group, the charter “marks a milestone as a strong commitment by private wealth management institutions in Hong Kong to support and implement the principle of treating customers fairly”, a statement from the groups said.

“Private wealth management institutions are expected to consistently demonstrate that fair treatment of customers is at the heart of their business models, further inspiring customers’ confidence and trust in the private wealth management industry,” the statement said.

It is essential to embed a strong culture of professionalism and fair treatment of clients if Hong Kong is to remain competitive in this sector, Norman Chan, HKMA chief executive, said.

With rival jurisdictions such as Singapore and Australia cracking down on poor advice and encouraging more transparency – such as through Singapore’s FAIR Act over advisors’ remuneration – Hong Kong is moving to raise its own game.

“The unanimous support for adopting the charter at our recent annual general meeting demonstrates a strong commitment on the part of our members to put clients’ interests at the heart of everything we do,” Amy Lo, chairman of the PWMA, said.

The PWMA approved the charter’s adoption on 28 April and the document applies to all 47 members.

To put the charter into practice, institutions support the setting of clear policies and procedures to promote transparency, reasonableness and efficiency in the execution of customer due diligence processes and joining international efforts for anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing work. Members of PWMA and the Hong Kong Association of Banks and the HKMA have developed a document about the automatic exchange of financial account information. This factsheet addresses commonly asked questions by bank customers.