Empowering Investors - Maintaining Market Integrity & Protecting Investors

Empowering Investors

In ensuring that investors are able to make informed financial and investment decisions, the SC continued to prioritise investor empowerment initiatives through investor education programmes. This included adopting greater use of social media platforms to alert vulnerable investors of possible scams or unlicensed activities and widening investor outreach programmes to be more targeted towards senior and rural investors.

Investor Alert List
In 2021, the SC made 275 new entries in the SC’s Investor Alert List, compared to 134 entries in 2020, warning the public against dealing or investing in unlicensed activities and scams. This was followed through media announcements and postings on InvestSmart® and its social media channels to ensure a wider reach to the public.
Blocking of websites and social media pages
The SC, with the assistance from the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) blocked 143 websites found to be carrying out unlicensed activities, scams, and misusing the SC’s name and logo. Further, the SC also received assistance from Facebook Malaysia to geo-block 35 Facebook accounts.
Targeted actions on unlicensed investment advice
In 2021, the SC placed 40 operators comprising entities and related individuals on the SC’s Investor Alert List for carrying out the business of investment advice without a licence. The SC also concurrently directed 23 such operators to cease and desist from undertaking all activities in relation to unlicensed investment advice.
Refer to the SC’s investor alert list
Investors’ behaviour and motivation
In 2021, the SC concluded an investor survey focused on the youth to assess the level of knowledge, behaviours, and motivation to participate in the capital market. The Nielsen Company (M) Sdn Bhd was commissioned by the SC to conduct the survey on its behalf.
read more
InvestSmart® Awareness Initiatives on Unlicensed Activities and Scams
The SC’s investor empowerment initiative, InvestSmart® carried out various activities to promote investment literacy and awareness on unlicensed activities and scams to members of the public. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, InvestSmart® continued to utilise various digital and online tools including social media channels like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube to reach out to the Malaysian public with timely alerts, reminders and guidance to avoid unlicensed activities and scams.
In 2021, the SC participated in Facebook Malaysia’s #TakNakScam campaign held from July 2021 to October 2021 with nine other institutions, including PDRM and Bursa Malaysia. Promoting awareness on unlicensed activities and scams remains a central focus during the Virtual InvestSmart® Fest 2021 held in October 2021, with the theme, “#JagaDiri #JagaPelaburan”.
In conjunction with the Virtual InvestSmart® Fest 2021, the Virtual ScamBuster Treasure Hunt 2021 was organised with the hashtag #SayNoToScams to further raise awareness on scams and unlicensed activities. Monthly InvestSmart® Online Series webinars and Digital Literacy for Seniors webinars were organised for the public to gain knowledge on legitimate products and services offered by the capital market. These webinars, which were recorded and subsequently uploaded on InvestSmart® social media platforms to reach out to a wider audience, also promoted antiscam awareness messages.

InvestSmart® frequently sends out reminders that investors who trade with unlicensed or unregistered entities or individuals are not protected under the Malaysian securities laws, and are exposed to risks, such as fraud and money laundering.

Further details on the SC’s investor empowerment initiatives through InvestSmart® are highlighted in Part 4 (Statistics, Statements and Activities).
Public Service Announcements
The SC continued its collaboration with the Ministry of Multimedia and Communication Malaysia to promote anti-scam awareness messaging nationwide through public service announcements in the form of a video. The three-part anti-scam awareness video titled, Silap Labur Duit Lebur was shown nationwide on television for three months.
Facilitating resolution
The Securities Industry Dispute Resolution Center (SIDREC) is an independent and impartial dispute resolution body for the capital market.

In 2021, SIDREC received 275 claims and enquiries (2020: 259), out of which 47 were eligible disputes. Continuing past trends, 88% of the eligible disputes in 2021 were resolved through case management and mediation without having to proceed to adjudication.

For the year 2021, SIDREC continued to conduct its mediation sessions and adjudication hearings either fully virtual or on a hybrid basis in view of the pandemic.
Strengthening Consumer Credit Protection
The Ministry of Finance, BNM, and the SC achieved a new milestone in July 2021 with the formation of a Consumer Credit Oversight Board (CCOB) Task Force. The Task Force is responsible for driving inter-Ministry efforts to enact the Consumer Credit Act (CCA) and putting in place the building blocks for the operationalisation of the CCOB.

The CCOB, as a new independent conduct authority under the Ministry of Finance, will have oversight of all consumer credit activities, starting with providers who are currently unregulated. Concurrently, BNM and the SC are also conducting a feasibility study on the potential consolidation of conduct supervision for all intermediaries in the financial industry under a new integrated conduct authority.