Tips for investors

#1: Check for licence
If you know the identity of the person giving the online investment advice, verify/check with the Securities Commission to see if the individual or company has been given a licence to give investment advice. Giving investment advice, even on the Internet, to the public requires a licence from the Securities Commission. Without a licence, the person is in breach of the Securities Industry Act 1983. If you are unable to get the person’s identity, then ignore the information because he could be a fraudster/conman out to get you.

#2: Get the facts
Never make an investment decision based solely on unsolicited/uncalled for investment advice posted on the Internet. Always verify with credible information providers, such as the Bursa Malaysia website (www.bursamalaysia.com) or annual reports, prospectuses and the newspapers.

#3: Do independent evaluation
Check information that you have obtained from chat rooms, online bulletin boards and websites by conducting your own evaluation on the investment opportunity. Refer to a licensed investment adviser or your remisier if you are unsure of how to do it yourself.

#4: Just ignore them
Lastly, if you receive an unwanted investment advice or tips from the Internet that you can’t check on, and you don’t know who is providing it. If you are even slightly doubtful, the best investment decision you can make is to ignore it totally.