For the second year in a row, the Trinidad and Tobago Securities and Exchange Commission (TTSEC) is hosting its Investor Education Community Outreach Roadshow.
On Wednesday, residents of Sangre Grande and its environs were the beneficiaries of the TTSEC’s second roadshow.
Legal Counsel Renee Vincent warned the audience of the exponential rise in fraudulent activities using social media scams.
She reminded them that issuers of securities, broker-dealers, and investment advisors are required to be registered with the Commission in order to conduct certain activities related to securities.
“What kind of scams are in the market right now? It can be unregistered persons selling securities, persons selling unregistered securities, prohibited schemes, and cryptocurrency or forex scams, which deal with things like bitcoin and USDT. I am not sure if anyone here is familiar with the term prohibited schemes, but I am sure some of you are familiar with the terms pyramid and Ponzi schemes correct?”
Senior Market Operations Officer at the TTSEC, Nichola Vickles, explained that the stock market allows investors to put their money to work for them with the goal of it growing over time. Ms. Vickles also highlighted a few myths associated with investments.
“People tend to think you need to have a lot of money to start investing. This isn’t necessarily true; you can simply start small and grow your investment over time. Investing is exclusive to the wealthy; again, this is another myth. Investing is for anyone, regardless of the income level.”
Investment Specialist at RBC Royal Bank (Trinidad and Tobago) Limited, Balmatie Minwah-Mohammed, outlined the mutual fund as one of the many ways in which persons may invest their money.
“A mutual fund is very, very liquid. What that simply means is that it’s easy to get into the fund or buy units, and it’s very easy to sell. So, it’s not to say that like with a mutual fund, you put your money in and when you need access to the funds for whatever purpose, you can’t have access to the fund—that is far from the truth.”
Continuing their focus on investor protection, the TTSEC will host its third roadshow in Tobago on May 28th.