Investor Alerts and Bulletins

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Bulletin to help educate investors regarding the margin rules that apply to day trading in a Regulation T margin account and to respond to a number of frequently asked questions we have received.

The SEC has recently experienced a significant uptick in tips, complaints, and referrals involving investment scams. The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy urges investors to be on high alert in order to protect themselves and others from becoming victims of investment fraud. Fraudsters use times of uncertainty and change, such as the current COVID-19 pandemic, to lure victims into investment scams. Below are tips to help you recognize and avoid frauds like Ponzi schemes, fake CD scams, bogus stock promotions, and community-based financial scams.

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Bulletin to help educate investors about investing in fractional shares. What are Fractional Shares? A fractional share is when you own less than one full share of a stock or other security.

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 key messages from World Investor Week 2020, a global campaign to raise awareness about the importance of investor education and protection.  From October 5-11, 2020, investors, investment professionals, teachers, parents, researchers, and others are encouraged to make a special ef

After a natural disaster strikes, fraudsters may try to take advantage of individuals who want to help fund recovery efforts or who receive lump sum insurance payouts. Fraudsters may use recent natural disasters, including Hurricane Laura, Hurricane Sally, and the wildfires on the West Coast, to lure victims into investment scams. These scams can take many forms.   

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Bulletin to provide investors information about closed-end funds that are traded on national securities exchanges. It is important to understand them and their risks before investing.  

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Bulletin to provide investors information about business development companies, or BDCs, that are traded on national securities exchanges. It is important to understand them before investing.  

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.

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.

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Alert to warn investors about investment frauds involving claims that a company’s products or services will be used to help stop the coronavirus outbreak.

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this alert to urge investors to use caution before investing in so-called “initial exchange offerings” through online trading platforms.

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Bulletin to provide investors information about funds that invest in leveraged loans. As with any investment, we urge you to make sure you understand these products and their risks before investing.

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy and the Retail Strategy Task Force are issuing this alert to help investors protect themselves and their communities from fraud targeting members of a shared faith.

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy (OIEA) is issuing this Investor Alert to warn investors about phony Certificates of Deposit (CDs) promoted through internet advertising and “spoofed” websites – websites that mimic the actual sites of legitimate financial institutions. Investors should be extremely cautious when purchasing CDs from sites found only through internet searches.

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy (OIEA) and Retail Strategy Task Force (RSTF) want Main Street investors to be aware of tactics fraudsters use to lure investors into scams. This Alert presents actual videos that defendants in SEC enforcement actions allegedly used as part of their investment frauds.

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy (OIEA) and Retail Strategy Task Force (RSTF) urge investors to look for red flags of fraud before paying for investments by credit card or wire transfer.

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA), and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) are issuing this Investor Bulletin to highlight key messages from World Investor Week 2019, a global campaign to raise awareness about the importance of investor education and protection. From October 1-7, 2019, investors, investment professionals, teachers, parents, researchers, and others are encouraged to make a special effort to promote investor education. Here are a…

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Alert to warn investors that fraudsters sometimes pose as SEC employees. Do not send money, or personal information, to anyone claiming to be from the SEC without verifying their identity using the steps described in this Alert.