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SEC penalizes an investment consultant for accepting an investor’s assignment to make trading decisions and fabricating that certain trading orders are sent by the investor



Wednesday 22 April 2020 | No. 80 / 2020


Bangkok, 22 April 2020 – SEC has suspended the approval for an investment consultant named {A} on account of accepting an investor’s assignment to make decisions on trading of securities and derivatives and fabricating that certain derivatives trading orders were sent by the investor. At the time of her misconduct, {A} was working for Maybank Kim Eng Securities (Thailand) Public Company Limited (MBKET).

According to a referral from MBKET and SEC’s further inspection, during May 2016 – December 2018, {A} executed trading orders of securities and derivatives for a client in the following manners: (1) using her personal mobile phone, together with the username and the password she had created, to execute trading transactions via the Internet, and (2) making trading orders via MBKET’s trading execution program. She also transferred her own money into the client’s trading account as a collateral for trading loss. Meanwhile, the client did not contradict or object to the record of confirmed transactions sent by the company. In addition, she had other persons confirm certain non-Internet based derivatives trading orders to make it appear that the client had sent the orders himself.

{A}’s misconduct above – taking the investor’s assignment to make decisions on trading of securities and derivatives and fabricating that certain derivatives trading orders were sent by the investor – was deemed failure to perform duties or give services with loyalty, responsibility and deliberation as a professional in contravention to the Notification of the Capital Market Supervisory Board.* SEC has therefore suspended the approval for {A} as an investment consultant for complex instruments type 1** for nine months and 22 days, effective from 22 April 2020.

Investors are strongly advised to be cautious and not to allow investment consultants to make investment decisions for them. In case of assigning other persons to send trading orders on investors’ behalf, a written authorization is required. In any case, investors should check the records of transaction confirmation regularly to make sure that they are properly issued by the securities companies in charge. In case of suspicious incidents, investors should contact the compliance unit without delay.

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 Notes: 

* Pursuant to Clause 23(2) and Clause 23(1) and the prohibited characteristics of personnel in the capital market business under Clause 31(1) of the Notification of the Capital Market Supervisory Board No. Tor Lor Thor. 8/2557 Re: Rules on Personnel in the Capital Market Business dated 3 June 2014, as amended by the Notification of the Capital Market Supervisory Board No. Tor Lor Thor. 48/2560 Re: Rules on Personnel in the Capital Market Business (No. 7) dated 30 August 2017.

** An investment consultant for complex instruments type 1 is allowed to give advice to investors about capital market products without complex features and products with high risks or complexity of all types, e.g., investment units of mutual funds for institutional investors or ultra-high net worth investors, investment units of mutual funds investing in derivatives, hybrid products, structured notes and derivatives.
 







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