Refund of Pinnacle Notes

Two years ago, a finance company sold $40,000 in a Pinnacle Notes to my wife. She brought back the sales brochure and felt convinced that it was a good investment. She believed in the assurances given by the finance company. She was told that many people rushed to buy the product which would be sold out soon.

I saw the wording on the brochure, "You stand to lose all of the amount that you have invested". I read the brochure for more details, but was told that they are explained in the prospectus and other documents (not made available to my wife). I said, "What kind of rubbish is this?".

At that time, I had a distrust of all structured products as my wife had earlier invested in two series of capital guaranteed  products and got back just 2% after investing for 5 years (when a safe government bond would have earned ber 15% at that time).

I told my wife to cancel the investment and ask the finance company to return the money to her. She said that it was not possible, as she had been told that the investment cannot be rolled back. I told my wife to tell the finance company that if they did not refund the money, I would fight them on a matter of principle.

My wife got back her $40,000. If not, she would have lost nearly all of her invested money as the notes are now worthless.

Lesson: It is important for Singaporeans to think for themselves and be aware of their legal and human rights.

Tan Kin Lian