Investor Alerts and Bulletins

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Bulletin to educate investors about investment performance claims.  If you are in the market for an investment, you will likely come across sales and marketing materials that describe an investment’s performance.  You should know that performance information can be presented in many different ways.  Before making a decision, always make sure you understand how any performance claim is calculated and presented – and whether or not the claim is reliable and applies to your particular circumstances.  Here are a few…

Fraudsters often use social media to scam investors.  The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy encourages you to be skeptical and never make investment decisions based solely on information from social media platforms or apps.

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Bulletin to educate investors about investing in unregistered securities offerings, sometimes called private placements, under Regulation D of the Securities Act. 

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 is issuing this Investor Bulletin to help educate investors about the arbitration and mediation processes involving a customer dispute with a broker-dealer. 

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Bulletin to help educate investors about extended-hours trading for stocks. Extended-hours trading, refers to trading that occurs outside of regular trading hours. Regular trading hours for stocks traded on exchanges and certain other markets are from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Extended-hours trading sessions may occur before or after regular trading hours. The duration of extended-hours trading sessions varies between markets and trading venues. Investors should contact their brokerage firms to…

Investors should be aware that false statements may be made -- including in company press releases, promotional materials, and social media posts -- about a company offering or developing products that prevent, detect, or treat COVID-19, in order to inflate the value of a company’s stock.  Fraudulent stock promotions of these companies also may be made through “research reports” that make predictions of a specific “target price.”  Never invest in a company based solely on information in a press release or stock promotion.

One of the best ways to build wealth is by saving and investing over a long period of time. The earlier you start, the easier it is for your money to grow. Opening your first investment account is a key step in beginning your investment journey. As a college student, you may receive offers to open an investment account. These offers could come from your bank, from someone you or your family know, or even at a campus coffee shop. They also can include incentives, like free stock or cash to invest, as a way to entice you to sign up.

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Bulletin to help investors ask informed questions about the interest a brokerage firm charges for margin accounts.

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy and the Division of Enforcement’s Retail Strategy Task Force are issuing this Investor Bulletin to educate investors about risks with accounts that pay interest on crypto asset deposits.

The SEC's Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this bulletin to help investors understand what happens when a fund closes and distributes its assets, or “liquidates.”  

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Bulletin to help educate investors about the SEC’s rules and regulations related to trading suspensions. The federal securities laws generally allow the SEC to suspend trading in any stock for up to ten business days. This bulletin answers some of the typical questions we receive from investors about trading suspensions. A list of companies whose stock is currently subject to an SEC trading suspension, or which previously has been subject to an SEC trading suspension, may be found here.

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Alert to warn you of communications – including phone calls, voicemails, emails, and letters – that may falsely appear to be from the SEC.  

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the National Futures Association (NFA), and the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) are issuing this Investor Bulletin to highlight some key topics for World Investor Week 2021, a global campaign to raise awareness about the importance of investor education and protection.  From October 4-10, 2021, investors, investment professionals, teachers, parents, researchers, and others are enc

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy, along with the Office of the Chief Accountant and the Division of Corporation Finance, is issuing this Investor Bulletin to educate individual investors about risks associated with investing in certain companies that provide exposure to China-based businesses.

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Alert to help educate investors, including individuals who may receive lump sum payouts from insurance companies and others as a result of damage from Hurricane Ida, about investment scams.

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy (OIEA) and Division of Enforcement’s Retail Strategy Task Force (RSTF) remind investors to watch out for investment schemes involving digital assets and “Crypto.”

The FBI Criminal Investigative Division and the United States Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy (OIEA) warn of fraudsters swindling investors while pretending to be registered brokers or investment advisers.

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Alert to help educate investors about common scams fraudsters may use to compromise investment, financial, or other personal accounts.  Investors should always take steps to safeguard their personal financial information (e.g., social security number, financial account numbers, phone number, e-mail address, or usernames and passwords for online financial accounts). These security tips can help ensure that your investment, financial, or other personal accounts remain secure. 

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Bulletin to help investors protect their online investment accounts from fraud. As with all web-based accounts, investors should take precautions to help ensure that their online brokerage accounts remain secure. These online security tips can help.

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Alert to provide investors with important steps to take regarding their investment accounts if they become victims of identity theft or a data breach. Investors should always take steps to safeguard their personal financial information (e.g., social security number, financial account numbers, phone number, e-mail address, or usernames and passwords for online financial accounts). However, if identity theft or a data breach compromises your personal financial information, here are some important steps to take…

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Bulletin to help educate investors about the risks of using leveraged investment strategies.

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Bulletin to educate investors about the use of margin accounts to buy securities and their related risks.

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) Office of Investor Education and Advocacy (OIEA) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC’s) Office of Customer Education and Outreach (OCEO) urge investors considering a fund with exposure to the Bitcoin futures market to weigh carefully the potential risks and benefits of the investment. Among other things, investors should understand that Bitcoin, including gaining exposure through the Bitcoin futures market, is a highly speculative investment. As such, investors should consider the volatility of Bitcoin and the Bitcoin futures…

The Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Bulletin to help you understand what to expect when opening a brokerage account, including what information you will need to provide, what decisions you will be asked to make, and what questions you should ask your broker.