About investor alerts
Published: 21 September 2017
Last updated: 21 March 2019
The Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway (FSA) frequently receives enquiries from consumers who have been offered to invest in different products over the phone, by e-mail or regular mail. The offers often come from brokers or other salespersons they have not had any previous relation to.
To offer investment services in Norway, a company in principle needs to have an authorisation from the FSA. Companies authorised in other EEA-countries can offer their services in Norway by notifying the FSA. We recommend to act with caution if you receive unsolicited investment offers, our experience indicates that these companies rarely have the necessary approvals and have often proved to be attempted fraud.
Typical of these offers are aggressive salespersons with promises of high returns and low risk, and pressure to invest quickly. The offers are often unsolicited.
The FSA recommends consumers to take necessary precautions when being offered financial services:
- Check the registry to see whether the firm is authorised by the FSA
- If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
- Ask for the information in writing before accepting an offer
- Never give out your bank account details or transfer money
- Never trust a website without checking the registry of licensed entities on the FSAs website.
All companies with authorisation to offer investment services in Norway can be found in the FSAs registry of licensed entities. Companies with authorisation from another EEA country with permission to offer their services in Norway can also be found in this registry.
FSA issues warnings about companies that are found to be offering investment services without being authorised. These warnings can be found on FSAs website.
Before you invest, always check first if the firm you plan to do business with can be found on this list.
The list of investor alerts is continuously updated, but will never be exhaustive. Names are likely to change regularly, so make sure to check if the company can be found in the FSAs registry before accepting any offers.
Warnings from authorities in countries outside of the EEA can be found on the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) website.