Saturday, July 24, 2010

HSBC Preference shares 8% USD

A consumer sent me a prospectus about the HSBC preference shares denominated in USD and asked my views. I asked an investment expert to study the prospectus. He gave his comments on this investment, compared with OCBC preference shares (which pays a lower yield in SGD). His analysis will be posted in the inside pages of the  FISCA website and will be available only to members after login.  See: www.fisca.sg.


Comments
You should avoid investing in financial products that you are not familiar with. The advisor who recommends the product to you should explain the risks to you, rather than push you a complicated prospectus to read. After all, the adviser is earning an attractive commission by selling the product. You should ask the adviser to give you a Product Highlight Sheet, which is now required by MAS, but I am not sure if the requirement has already come into effect.