Investor Alerts and Bulletins

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Bulletin to provide investors information about interval funds. Interval funds are legally classified as closed-end funds, a type of investment company, but they have some distinctive features that make them different from typical closed-end funds. Some important features of interval funds are:                                                              

The FBI Criminal Investigative Division and the Office of Investor Education and Advocacy of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) would like to warn consumers of a recent increase in fraudulent schemes targeting owners of timeshare properties in Mexico. These scams typically involve individuals alleging to be representatives of a brokerage firm, travel agency, title company, or escrow agent making unsolicited contact with owners of timeshare properties. 

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Bulletin to show investors how to use Investor.gov’s free and easy search tool to help you check out brokers and investment advisers.  Always research an investment professional—including confirming they are registered and whether they’ve had any disciplinary events—before deciding to work with them. 

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Bulletin to provide investors information about the customer or client “relationship summary” (also called Form CRS and Form ADV Part 3) that broker-dealers and investment advisers are required to provide when they offer services to retail investors.

The SEC's Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this bulletin to educate investors about indexed annuities. Indexed annuities are complex products. Investors should carefully read the indexed annuity contract, and any prospectus, before deciding whether to buy the annuity.

As a teacher, you have a number of choices to make when investing for retirement. The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Bulletin to help teachers make informed investment decisions, including about 403(b) and 457(b) plans -- tax-advantaged retirement savings programs often offered to teachers of public educational institutions.  More information for teachers is available in our A Guide for Teachers: Saving and Investing for K-12 Educators.

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy (OIEA) and the Division of Enforcement’s Retail Strategy Task Force urge investors to be mindful when investing in offerings that are broadly advertised.

The CARES Act of 2020 provides significant relief for businesses and individuals affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes allowing retirement investors affected by the coronavirus to gain access to up to $100,000 of their retirement savings without being subject to early withdrawal penalties and with an expanded window for paying the income tax they owe on the amounts they withdraw. Unfortunately, unscrupulous promoters have used these CARES Act benefits to encourage investors to take money from their 401(k)s or traditional IRAs, not for current emergency financial needs, but to buy…

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy (OIEA) and the Division of Enforcement’s Retail Strategy Task Force are issuing this Alert to educate Main Street investors about current investment frauds, including scams related to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) are issuing this Investor Bulletin to urge you to consider adding a “trusted contact person” to your brokerage account.