What Is the MAS Investor Alert List?

The MAS Investor Alert List is a list published by the Monetary Authority of Singapore of individuals and entities that, based on information available to MAS, may be wrongly perceived by the public as being licensed, authorised or regulated by MAS. Its purpose is to alert investors and businesses that these parties may look like regulated institutions, but they are not.

Which Parties Does the Investor Alert List Include?

On the list’s page, MAS sets out three situations in which parties are included. The first is parties that may be, or have been, wrongly perceived as being licensed, authorised or regulated by MAS. The second is parties that have offered units in business trusts or collective investment schemes that may be wrongly perceived as authorised, recognised or registered by MAS. The third is parties that have made offers of investments that may be wrongly perceived as being accompanied by documents lodged or registered with MAS.

What the three have in common is that they “may be wrongly perceived as recognised by MAS”, and the list is based on the information available to MAS.

What Does It Mean to Be on the List, or Not?

A party appearing on the Investor Alert List means MAS considers that it may be wrongly perceived as being regulated, authorised or recognised by MAS. For businesses, if a counterparty claims to be regulated by MAS but appears on the list, that claim should not be accepted.

Not being on the list, however, says little. MAS states clearly that the list is not exhaustive and reflects only what MAS knew at the time of publication. Whether an institution is regulated should therefore be determined by the MAS Financial Institutions Directory, with the Investor Alert List used only for supplementary screening.

How Can You Spot Impersonators Now That MAS No Longer Publishes Their Names?

MAS states on the list’s page that it will no longer publish on the Investor Alert List the names and online identifiers (such as websites and communication channels) of entities impersonating MAS-regulated financial institutions. This means impersonators will not appear on the list, and checking the list cannot identify impersonation.

MAS’s advice is to always verify an institution’s identity and deal only through official channels; if in doubt, check its official contact details on the institution’s website or in the MAS Financial Institutions Directory. In practice, this means checking the website, phone number and address the counterparty provides, item by item, against the information on the directory’s detail page.

How Is the Investor Alert List Different From the List of Entities No Longer Exempt?

The two lists cover different parties. The Investor Alert List covers parties that may be wrongly perceived as regulated by MAS; the list of entities no longer exempt covers institutions that were exempt during a specified period and could provide previously unregulated payment services without a license, but are no longer exempt and may not continue to provide the relevant services under the Payment Services Act. MAS also notes on that list’s page that the full list of licensed institutions can be found in the Financial Institutions Directory, or that people can ask the institution directly about its exemption status.

For businesses, both lists are supplementary screening tools alongside the Financial Institutions Directory. If a counterparty previously provided payment services under an exemption, you need to confirm whether it appears on the list of entities no longer exempt. How to check if a company is MAS licensed ties these steps together into a complete process.

Conclusion

The MAS Investor Alert List lists parties that may be wrongly perceived as regulated by MAS, but it is not exhaustive and no longer includes entities impersonating regulated institutions. Whether an institution is regulated should be determined by the Financial Institutions Directory, and impersonation should be identified by verifying the counterparty’s identity using the official contact details in the directory, with the Investor Alert List and the list of entities no longer exempt serving as supplementary screening.