Seoul plans to tighten rules as losses on ELS products mount

Seoul

ASHLEY Park, a 45-year-old South Korean teacher, says a completed questionnaire and a 90-minute interview weren't enough to get the message across to her bank that she wanted a safe investment. She ended up losing 30 per cent on a derivative linked to Chinese stocks, after pulling out early to limit her losses.

"I took a pre-test to figure out my attitude to investment risk and the test said I'm a conservative investor who needed to invest in savings accounts only," she said on Feb 2 by phone. "I spent one hour and 30 minutes and repeatedly said I wanted my principal to be protected."