After receiving more than 2,000 complaints since July 2014, the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) is warning investors to step inside the regulatory tent for their own protection.
Financial products and services from outside the perimeter of regulation are being offered to investors who are not realising the consequences. More than half of all complaints received were related to scams, or money being lost to – or withheld by – unregistered or unlicensed companies, some of which are offshore.
Often, the companies involved offer ‘big win’ products such as forex trading services, investment schemes, property seminars and forex training software.