Mar 18 2010
Alternative Investments Gone Wrong
In the past few years, we had seen many so-called alternative investments gone wrong. From land banking to oil fields (oilpods) to wine.
If you had a bad experience with some of these investments, you would likely have gone through a tough time trying to get any form of recourse including being put on a merry go round between your MP, MAS, Small Claims Tribunal (SCT), FIDRec, CAD, the police and a lawyer (depending on who you approach first in the chain). I sympathize with those who have been put through all these.
All these products continue to stay as unregulated investments and do not fall under the purview of MAS, which means the alternative investment product providers can pretty much do what they like.
The irony is that MAS has been trying in recent times to tighten up on the regulations that relates to the sale and marketing of investment products.
For example, there are restrictions even on the font size to be used when placing an advertisement to market an investment product.
Simple products like low cost index funds can only be sold to accredited investors and are not available to retail investors.
And yet some of these toxic alternative investments continue to be sold to the man in the street without any regulation. There is an urgent need to start regulating some of these investments in order to protect retail investors. The buck has to stop somewhere.
There is a site that has been writing a few articles recently on some investors’ unpleasant experiences with land banking. If you go there, you will be able to see a number of comments as well as links to a few other news site that did some other reporting on land banking.
You can find the site here:
While it is still up to you to differentiate facts from opinions, the site is definitely worth a read to get more educated on some of the perils of land banking.
hi,
I require more information regarding the wine investment & wine investment fundwhich operating locally in Singapore.
Please assist me or enlighten me above the above investments.
Any good way to claim back the money that invested with them.
thanks.
Keith Hong
Reply
lioninvestor Reply:
March 23rd, 2010 at 12:06 pm
Hi Keith,
which fund are you referring to?
Reply
Personally I doubt MAS is capable of policing the myraid of alternative investments, and sharks are always at least one step ahead of officials.
Best if people are more cautious with their money.
Reply
lioninvestor Reply:
March 23rd, 2010 at 12:07 pm
Hi Daniel,
yes, the sharks will most likely be one step ahead. There’s an investor alert list being maintained though.
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There is two sepearte investments involved:
1.0 Wine investment – physical wine investment.
2.0 Wine investment Fund – Physical money to invested in the wine involve pool of money that invested in wine by institute or company.
Currently, the valuation wine prices by the investment are badly evaluated and it way high handed manupulated by them.
please help!
Keith Hong
Reply
lioninvestor Reply:
March 25th, 2010 at 4:42 am
Hi Keith,
Where did you buy these from?
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Few of us ( local investors) invested with 2 seperate local wine investment companies in singapore.
We all felt that they are monopolize the valuation and manupulating the wine invstment prices.
As a result, they always claimed the prices or valuation of invested portfolio are low. Due to the demand & supply issues.
Still sarching for the better solutions to exit the portfolioandin order to get back the money $!
Keith Hong
Reply