The news:
- The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA), South Africa’s financial institutions market conduct regulator, has warned the public to exercise caution when dealing with certain investment opportunities.
- In a press release by the authority on Wednesday, January 24, 2024, it cited Livestock Wealth Financial Services (Pty) Ltd (Livestock FS) and Livestock Wealth (Pty) Ltd (Livestock Wealth), both subsidiaries of Livestock Wealth — an agri-investment startup, as outfits to be cautious of.
The FSCA said it had received several reports that Livestock Wealth was offering South Africans investments in livestock and other agricultural products with the promise of a return on investment.
However, the authority clarified that Livestock Wealth is not licenced to provide financial or related services under the 2002 Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services (FAIS) Act.
The FAIS Act requires all Financial Services Providers (FSP) to register with the FSCA and obtain the appropriate licence category before conducting business legally in South Africa.
While issuing the warning, the FSA also assured the public that there’s an ongoing investigation into Livestock Wealth’s unlawful use of the Livestock FS financial service provider number on its website.
Livestock FS, FSP number 51237, is a licenced financial services provider offering Category I financial products and services.
So, while it’s authorised to offer advice and intermediary services relating to insurance products and pension benefits, it’s not licenced to provide any financial services relating to deposits or investments.
The Authority further highlighted that along with Livestock Wealth, Livestock FS is also under investigation for the same infraction.
The FSCA declared that it has not yet produced any findings and that the investigations are still ongoing. The authority, however, promised to inform the public once it concludes its investigations and announce any administrative sanctions it may impose.
The authority advised the public to verify that an entity or individual has a licence to provide financial products and services by the FSCA before engaging it. Additionally, South Africans are encouraged to confirm the licence category to spot companies that may be misrepresenting themselves.
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The public can confirm through the resources available on the FSCA’s website.
