Financial Knowledge

Investor Protection

This section summarizes the six major sales principles of the Financial Consumer Protection Act; the right to withdraw a subscription, the right to terminate unlawful contracts and the right to request access to records; dispute mediation and complaint procedures; the scope of deposit insurance; and how to respond to mis-selling, illegal stock 'leading rooms', illegal fundraising and impersonation fraud. The specific requirements for exercising these rights vary with the product and situation, so please check with the financial company or the Financial Supervisory Service.

النسخة العربية من هذه الصفحة قيد الإعداد. يُعرض المحتوى بالإنجليزية إلى حين اكتمالها.

54 questions · Last updated

  1. 01What is the Financial Consumer Protection Act?
  2. 02How does the Financial Consumer Protection Act classify financial products?
  3. 03How do general financial consumers and professional financial consumers differ?
  4. 04What are the six major principles for selling financial products?
  5. 05What sanctions do financial companies face for violating the six major sales principles?
  6. 06What is the suitability principle?
  7. 07What information is used to judge suitability?
  8. 08How does the appropriateness principle differ from the suitability principle?
  9. 09Does the suitability principle not apply if I sign up online (non-face-to-face)?
  10. 10What is the duty to explain?
  11. 11What should I do if I still don't understand after the explanation?
  12. 12Do I have to receive the product description on paper?
  13. 13What is a key summary document?
  14. 14What counts as unfair business practices?
  15. 15What is unfair solicitation?
  16. 16Is it acceptable for a salesperson to say 'Your principal is absolutely guaranteed' or 'It will definitely go up'?
  17. 17Can a financial company recommend investment products to me by phone?
  18. 18What must financial product advertisements include?
  19. 19Do I have to receive the contract documents?
  20. 20Can I cancel after investing in a fund if I change my mind?
  21. 21Which investment-type products are eligible for withdrawal of subscription?
  22. 22How do I withdraw a subscription?
  23. 23When will I get my money back after withdrawing a subscription?
  24. 24What is the right to terminate unlawful contracts?
  25. 25By when can I demand termination of an unlawful contract?
  26. 26If I terminate an unlawful contract, do I get my investment losses back too?
  27. 27What is the right to request access to records?
  28. 28How long do financial companies keep sales records?
  29. 29What should I do if I have a dispute with a financial company?
  30. 30What effect does a dispute mediation outcome have?
  31. 31Does applying for dispute mediation interrupt the statute of limitations?
  32. 32Can a financial company avoid mediation by filing a lawsuit during the dispute mediation process?
  33. 33If I suffered losses because of a breach of the duty to explain, do I have to prove the financial company was at fault?
  34. 34Who is responsible if I suffer losses after signing up through a sales agent?
  35. 35What should I check when dealing with a sales agent or broker?
  36. 36Can I check whether a door-to-door or telephone salesperson actually works for the financial company?
  37. 37How can I get advice from the Financial Supervisory Service?
  38. 38How is a complaint filed with the Financial Supervisory Service handled?
  39. 39Are there dispute mediation bodies other than the Financial Supervisory Service?
  40. 40What is the deposit insurance limit, and are investment products protected?
  41. 41Is the cash I keep in my securities account protected?
  42. 42Are products that pay principal and interest, such as bonds or ELBs, covered by deposit insurance?
  43. 43What is mis-selling?
  44. 44What should I check to avoid being mis-sold?
  45. 45Are there separate safeguards for elderly investors?
  46. 46How can I spot an illegal stock 'leading room'?
  47. 47Is one-on-one investment advice from a quasi-investment advisory business legal?
  48. 48A famous investment expert is recommending overseas stocks in an open chat room. Can I trust it?
  49. 49When I tried to withdraw my money, I was told to pay more because of an 'FSS source-of-funds investigation'.
  50. 50What is illegal fundraising (unauthorized deposit-taking)?
  51. 51Why are investment ads promising 'guaranteed principal with high returns' dangerous?
  52. 52What if a securities firm employee asks me to send investment money to a personal account?
  53. 53How can I check whether a company soliciting investment is a genuine financial company?
  54. 54Where do I report suspected illegal financial activity?

General financial information, not investment advice. Rules and tax rates change; please check the latest guidance from the source institution.