Ensuring Materials from Unlicensed Financial Advisors Still Accessible Online No Longer Carry Risk of Misleading Consumers

70 Ms Nadia Ahmad Samdin asked the Prime Minister and Minister for Finance with regard to the advisory letters from MAS to five content creators for providing unlicensed financial advice (a) how does MAS ensure that past materials left accessible online no longer carry the risk of misleading consumers of financial products; and (b) what interim enforcement actions will MAS conduct before the guidelines on responsible online financial content come into effect in March 2026.

Mr Gan Kim Yong (for the Prime Minister): The letters of advice that the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) issued to the five online content creators informed them that their content and practices might have constituted provision of financial advice, which requires an MAS licence. MAS found that they offered one-on-one coaching on financial related matters. Such coaching may breach MAS' regulations if they constituted recommendations to buy, sell or hold specific investment products or tailored financial advice relating to an individual's circumstances.

The letters also contained advice for the content creators to adjust their content and practices to avoid breaching MAS' regulations. Letters of advice are issued when no regulatory breaches have been established, but MAS has assessed that actions by certain persons are at risk of crossing the line. The identities of these persons are therefore not published. MAS' early intervention aims to mitigate risks to the public and deter any errant actions that may result in regulatory breaches.

Following our letters of advice, the content creators concerned have since deleted and edited the relevant content, including the reference to one-on-one coaching. They have also adjusted their practices.

To build greater awareness among the content creator community, MAS recently published two sets of guidelines: one for content creators and another for financial institutions when they conduct digital advertising activities¹ (FI guidelines). These are in addition to existing guidelines published in 2019, which provide examples of activities that would constitute provision of financial advice².

MAS will continue to monitor developments and provide guidance to content creators, including what may constitute providing financial advice. MAS will also work with financial institutions to implement the FI guidelines to manage risks associated with digital advertising, including the use of content creators. While the FI guidelines take effect on March 2026, MAS expects financial institutions to implement them progressively in the interim to achieve full alignment by the effective date. Even before the FI guidelines come into effect, MAS may still take enforcement action against content creators who provide financial advice without a licence.