Kuala Lumpur: The Securities Industry Dispute Resolution Center (SIDREC) today released its 2021 Annual Report. The Report highlights SIDREC’s success and resilience in providing investors with an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) avenue to the courts to seek redress for monetary disputes that they have with providers of capital market products and services who are members of SIDREC.

Enhancing Investor Protection through Alternative Dispute Resolution

Despite COVID-19 movement restrictions imposed throughout 2021, SIDREC continued to resolve a high percentage of eligible disputes through ADR. Eighty-eight percent (88%) of disputes were successfully concluded either through case management or mediation.

According to SIDREC’s Chairman, Dato’ Mah Weng Kwai, “This is an encouraging outcome. It augurs well for mediation as an alternative means to resolving disputes as it reduces cost and avoids long-drawn legal disputes in court. The cost and time saved to settle monetary disputes also have far-reaching implications. It helps instil greater investor confidence with the availability of a more holistic investor protection infrastructure.”

In 2021, SIDREC received a total of 275 claims and enquiries, comprising 47 eligible disputes and 228 enquiries. This marks an increase of six percent from the 259 claims and enquiries received in 2020. Out of the 47 eligible disputes received by SIDREC, 34 related to shares and warrants, 10 to unit trusts and three to derivatives. Service standard-related eligible disputes formed the largest number of disputes received by SIDREC by nature of claim in 2021. Of the 47 eligible disputes, 22 centred on service standard issues, 18 on market conduct and seven on practices and policies of providers of capital market products and services.

SIDREC continued to forge ahead with the provision of Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) services in the management of eligible disputes in 2021. This was to ensure that it continued to serve as an independent, impartial and effective body for the resolution of monetary disputes in the capital market in Malaysia following sustained movement restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

SIDREC’s Chief Executive Officer, Sharmila Sharma, stated that in 2021, “Despite COVID-19 movement restrictions, SIDREC mediated 17 disputes, one of the highest numbers in any given year since its inception.” She added, “ODR has not merely been a means for SIDREC to overcome the challenges posed by the pandemic, it also increased the accessibility of SIDREC’s dispute resolution services to retail investors in the Malaysian capital market across the country and even abroad. To this end, SIDREC will continue to refine the measures that have already been put in place in 2020 and 2021 to ensure that ODR continues to be robust and sustainable over time.”

SIDREC Investor Awareness Survey

In 2021, SIDREC also conducted its biennial Investor Awareness Survey (IAS) between August and October to gauge the level of awareness of SIDREC and its services among retail investors in the Malaysian capital market. SIDREC received over 10,000 survey responses with the largest groups of respondents aged between 25 and 44, living in the Klang Valley. They predominantly invested in stocks or shares, followed by unit trusts and private retirement schemes. Their main investment pattern was on a monthly basis of less than RM10,000 annually. The results of the survey highlighted the need for continuing investor education, including options in seeking redress for capital-market related monetary disputes.

For more insights, please refer to SIDREC’s Annual Report 2021 available online at www.sidrec.com.my or click here.

Click here to download this media release.

Securities Industry Dispute Resolution Center (SIDREC) 29 March 2022