KUCHING: In view of the current economic uncertainty, some people may be interested in venturing into equity investment to diversify their sources of income.
In turn, speakers who have claimed to specialise in providing courses or training on equity investment have been actively promoting themselves via social media platforms, especially Facebook, encouraging people to participate in the activity.
Fellow at Academy of Sciences Malaysia, Datuk Dr Madeline Berma said courses on equity financing may be beneficial, but cautioned the public to be wary of potential scams and frauds.
“Learning something new, including attending courses on equity financing is a good move. This is part of knowledge acquisition, investment and finance.
“With the knowledge, the learner can increase and diversify their sources of income,” said the economic analyst when contacted by New Sarawak Tribune.
She said having more training providers would create competition and provide more options to customers, leading to better quality of services.
However, she said challenges would include the proliferation of unqualified trainers and non-certified courses on equity investment.
“There could also be an increase in scams and frauds, which would lead to loss of investments,” she said.
Madeline urged those who sought such courses to look out for signs of scam, including high returns and low risk, insider information, pressure to invest immediately, or sellers who are not registered to sell investments.
“Take action by checking the registration of an individual or business trying to sell you investments or giving investment advices,” she said.
Meanwhile, Prof Dr Lo May Chiun, senior director of Research Innovation & Enterprise Centre, University Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas), said that in order to be a specialist in such investments, there are some requirements imposed by the Malaysian regulator — the Securities Commission (SC).
“The SC would ensure that these licensed advisers are qualified, as they are required to undergo certain modules to obtain a licence.
“Therefore, the person claiming to be an expert must be registered and holds licence from the SC to be able to conduct such courses or training,” she said.
The academician from Unimas’ Faculty of Economics and Business emphasised that a non-registered or non-licensed person is not authorised to conduct such training or courses.
She said licensing ensures an adequate level of investor protection, including the provision of sufficient safeguards to investors.
“Therefore, the public should be vigilant and take responsibility of their own investments. They should enhance their knowledge about investment opportunities and how they can exercise their rights as investors,” she said.
She said those who wished to invest in these securities should refer to the SC, adding that the SC website provides information of unauthorised or unlicensed platforms, companies and individuals.
“Be aware that Malaysian investors who deal with unlicensed persons or entities are not protected under the Malaysian securities laws,” advised Lo.
