Securities Fraud

Securities Fraud Alert

It has been brought to our attention that investors and potential investors are being contacted by people claiming to be from AXA Investment Managers other AXA Group entities and who try to persuade them to invest with them. They may contact you by telephone or by email with links to bogus websites.

The products they try to sell might even have official sounding names. Please always check the fund is legitimate with the relevant local regulatory authority and managed by an AXA Investment Managers entity. In the context of a financing proposal, they may request that you pay them an advance fee to release funds, which is not an AXA Investment Managers' practice.

Please be advised that if you have been the recipient of such an offer, the communication which you have received was not initiated by any AXA Investment Managers entity or AXA Investment Managers employee.

You are the victim of an attempted fraud and are in communication with individuals who may be attempting to learn your personal and banking details for criminal or illegitimate purposes including theft.

We strongly advise that you cease all communications with the individuals regarding this fraudulent offer and alert your bank and local authorities if your personal information has been divulged.

Potential Warning Signs of Fraudulent Activity:

• 'Verify your account' requests – Legitimate investment managers will never ask you to enter full account details, passwords or PINs outside of a secure process.
• Incorrect contact information – Addresses and phone numbers that cannot be verified are a clear sign of fraud.
• Bank accounts in offshore jurisdictions – Legitimate investment managers will not provide you with bank account details in offshore jurisdictions and ask you to transfer funds to such accounts.

Some Steps You Can Take to Protect Yourself:

• Protect your information – Do not send confidential information via e-mail unless you know the recipient and you know that the process is protected through encryption.
• Emails – Delete all suspicious emails without opening them. Be particularly careful when opening attachments to emails.
• Solicitation – Most legitimate, registered institutional investment managers are unlikely to cold call you or contact you without a request.
• Contact and verify – Confirm the company's address and telephone number. Check the company's website or through the local regulatory authorities.
• Regulatory registration – Contact the relevant local regulatory authority (e.g. FCA for the UK, AMF for France, BaFin in Germany or FINMA in Switzerland) to confirm a company's registration. They also have extensive information on their websites on how to protect yourself against fraud.

Please note the above is not exhaustive. Investors should take all necessary precautions to avoid fraudulent activity, such as performing background checks on investment managers.

AXA Investment Managers is committed to safeguarding all confidential information about our clients.
If you are concerned about any potential fraud, please contact AXA Investment Managers directly, the appropriate government agency or your nearest police station. You may also email us or forward suspicious emails to ZRHIM-IOC@axa-im.com.