Warning Investment Programme Mgment Incorporated

Warning Investment Programme Management Incorporated

The Securities Commission warns people about a scheme run by Investment Programme Management Incorporated. The scheme involves 3 programmes for dealing in futures contracts.

The Commission has banned advertising for the scheme which has been distributed in Auckland and Hamilton. The scheme has no investment statement or registered prospectus. Neither Investment Programme Management Incorporated nor the New Zealand distributors are authorised futures dealers.

Investment Programme Management Incorporated is registered in Belize, Central America and has offices in Malaga, Spain. It has been distributed in New Zealand by a small number of financial planners.

The documents claim that investors can nominate how much of their capital is at risk and claims that the rest is “fully protected and is at no risk. The documents claim to “guarantee” that losses cannot exceed the amount nominated by the investor.

Any advertisement that claims a financial product is free from risk is likely to mislead investors and is in breach of securities law. Any advertisement that says securities are guaranteed must also state the name of the guarantor, the nature and amount of the guarantee and whether or not the guarantee is secured. The offer documents do not provide all this information.

The programmes claim to have provided very high historical returns. On evidence given to the Commission, returns are very volatile. This is a high risk investment. Losses can be high. The offer documents do not adequately disclose the risks of the investment.

‘We remind investment advisers that futures dealers are required to be authorised by the Commission,” Jane Diplock says. “And we again warn investors about schemes which promise unusually high returns and which do not have a registered prospectus and investment statement.”

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