From time to time, MAS receives information on persons who are possibly conducting activities regulated by MAS without authorisation. Some of these unregulated persons may sometimes use names similar to that of entities regulated by MAS.
MAS maintains an investor alert list, on whom MAS has received information and who are not authorised by MAS in respect of the carrying on of regulated activities. The list is not exhaustive.
The main shortcoming of this list is that by the time a company makes it there, many people might already have invested with the company. A better way would be checking the list of regulated financial institutions in Singapore, which is maintained separately by MAS.
Another problem is that even though some of the companies on the alert list are not regulated as defined by the law, most of them continue to operate as normal even after making it to that list.
Some other companies might try to get round the system by claiming that they are only selling products and not investments – products that give you a return.
As of today, there are 113 companies on the MAS Investor Alert List. This compares to 93 companies when I last published the alert list almost one year ago. So one way of improving the list would be to indicate the date whereby the company was added to the list.
One notable recent addition is a company which has been promoting land investments for the past few years. If collective land investment is not considered a regulated activity, shouldn’t all companies that promote collective land investments to retail investors be on that list? Or should the authorities take steps to regulate them properly (if they are good) or ban them completely (if they are bad)?
The current list is as shown below:
- Aberdeen Langley
- Alliance & Dunbar Consultancy Inc.
- Alltra Limited (Alltra)
- Apollo International Wealth Management Co. Ltd
- Armstrong Group International Ltd
- Asian Foreign Securities and Compliance Department (“AFSCD”)
- Astral European
- Athelington International, UK
- tlantic International Partners
- Barlow & Ramsey
- Barron Mackenzie Barrister and Solicitors/Barron Mackenzie Pte Ltd
- Baylor Byrnes Brackman Group Inc.
- Bernard Simpson Consultants
- Berkeley Samson International
- Blane and Blanchett
- Bloomberg and Associates [“B&A”]
- Bowen Reece (formerly known as Chartered Asset Management Co Ltd)
- Cambridge Capital Trading [CCT]
- Capital Partners
- Carlton Global Management
- Carver Brooks & Associates (“Carver”)
- Cathay Asset Management
- Charles Fleming Co Ltd
- Chartered Asset Management Co Ltd [This company is a different entity from and not related to Chartered Asset Management Pte Ltd; the latter being a holder of a capital markets services licence which is regulated by MAS.]
- Chartwell Asset Management
- Clearwater International Limited [“CIL”]
- Crest Asset Management
- Davis Goldberg Group
- Davis Group International
- DSB Singapore Pte
- De Verre Lloyd & Co Ltd
- DM Gray Consulting
- Don Tombia Herbert Investment Ltd
- Drexel Asset Management Limited
- Drover-Horne Ltd (also known as Drover-Horne Management Pte Ltd)
- Dublin Castle Investment Inc
- Eaglebanque
- Eaton Capital Americas
- Eno Capital Transfer [“Eno”]
- Expatriate Financial Services
- Factor Ten Financial
- Far East Asset Management
- Finance Alliance (FA) [This company is a different entity from and not related to Financial Alliance Pte Ltd; the latter being a holder of a financial adviser’s licence which is regulated by MAS.]
- First National Financial Group Inc
- First Pacific Network
- Foreign Exchange Capital Markets LLC (“FXCM”)
- Garner Goldstein Incorporated
- GINSystem Inc
- Global Capital Management Pte Ltd
- Global Corporate Strategies International
- Global Link Mergers & Acquisitions
- Global Medical Financing, Singapore
- Green Cap Financial LLC (Green Cap)
- Harrington Management Ltd
- Hawkins & Doyle Inc
- Imperia Invest IBC
- International Options Trading Ltd Pty
- JP Moreau Ltd
- Kearns Investment
- KLC Partners
- Lanson Financial Administration
- Lombard Grand Incorporated
- Martinez & Mannheim
- Medibroker International [“Medibroker”]
- Mercantile Sterling Management
- Morgan Glenwell Limited
- McKenzie Smith (formerly known as Cabrini, Green & Ross Inc.)
- Nectine Solomon Corporation
- Norstar Financial Group
- Oppenheimer International
- Oxford Trading (1978) Limited, Hong Kong
- Pacific Prime Insurance Brokers Limited [“Pacific Prime”]
- Paradigm Resources, Ltd
- Parker Jennings
- Phoenix Alliance International
- Pollack & Quinn
- Premium Alliance Group
- Premium Placements Management
- Primrose Trading Co Ltd
- Professional Capital Management Pte Ltd
- Provident Capital Pte Ltd [This entity is different from and not related to Provident Capital Pte Ltd; the latter being an exempt fund manager, exempt corporate finance advisor, exempt leverage foreign exchange trader which had ceased its exempt status on 29 May 2007.]
- Quantex Inc.
- Richard Watson Associates
- RMC Client Services
- Rockwell and Bond S.A.
- Roth Group Plc/Pte Ltd
- Scott Fitzgerald Group
- Silverthorne and Chambers Inc (S&C)
- Singapore Securities Options Futures Exchange (SSOFX)
- Sino Intermediaries, Taiwan (also known as Sino Intermediaries)
- Sovereign Global Trading
- Stamford Financial Limited
- Steinberg Investment Research AG
- Sterling Capital Corp
- Sterling Futures Management Ltd
- Stockbridge Consultants
- Strategic Capital Partners Portfolio Management AG [“SCP”]
- Sunshine Empire Pte Ltd [“SE”]
- Swiss Cash/Swiss Mutual Fund
- The Falon Group Limited
- The Profitable Group (Profitable Plots Pte Ltd)
- The Xenon Group [“Xenon”]
- Thomas Castle Management
- Towry Law International
- Trans-World Alliance Trading Ltd
- Tzu, Waite & Associates Singapore
- Union Acquisition Group & Collins Capital Management
- Warner Price Trading Ltd
- Warrick Management Group Limited
- Webster Acquisitions/London
- Whitman Pearce & Partners
- Windsor International Management Ltd
- Yamato and Associates