Investor Alerts and Bulletins

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy (OIEA) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) Office of Customer Education and Outreach warn investors to watch out for false claims about agency actions and endorsements related to digital assets.  Fraudsters may use false claims to lure investors into purchasing digital assets and to artificially raise their value. “Digital assets” include crypto-currencies, coins, and tokens such as those offered in so called initial coin offerings (ICOs).

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy, FINRA, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) are issuing this Investor Bulletin to highlight key messages from World Investor Week 2018. 

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy (OIEA) and Retail Strategy Task Force (RSTF) warn investors that providing your phone number and email address in response to an online investment promotion may make you a target for fraud.

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy (OIEA) is alerting investors to the risk that bad actors have sought to impersonate SEC personnel on social media. Please do not just assume you are dealing with the SEC on social media.  Take a few steps to ensure that you’re not dealing with an imposter.

Scam artists often exploit “hot” industries to trick investors, including by making false promises of high returns with low risks. The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy (OIEA) and Retail Strategy Task Force are warning investors about these kinds of investment schemes involving marijuana-related companies.

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy (OIEA) urges investors to check the background of anyone selling or offering them an investment.  No matter how good an investment may sound, verify that the person is currently registered or licensed and check his or her background by using the free and simple search tool on Investor.gov.

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Alert to warn investors of risks associated with self-directed Individual Retirement Accounts (self-directed IRAs).  Self-directed IRAs allow investment in a broader—and potentially riskier—portfolio of assets than other types of IRAs.  While a broader set of investment options may have appeal, investors should be mindful that investments in self-directed IRAs raise risks including fraudulent schemes, high fees, and volatile performance.

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Bulletin to provide investors basic information about index funds.

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Bulletin to inform investors about features and potential risks of non-traditional index funds.

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy (OIEA) is informing investors about how they may be able to recover money if they have been harmed by a violation of the federal securities laws.

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy (OIEA) and Retail Strategy Task Force are warning investors about red flags that a broker may be running a side business offering investments that are not approved for sale through the broker’s firm.

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Bulletin to answer questions that may arise when investing in a 529 plan account. Please also see our companion Bulletin, An Introduction to 529 Plans, for background information on the plans.

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Bulletin to provide investors with background information on 529 plans. Please also see our companion Bulletin for a few questions to consider before opening a 529 plan account.

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Bulletin to provide investors information about health savings accounts. We encourage you to also consult Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance before making investment decisions about a health savings account, because receiving favorable tax treatment is an important part of a health savings account.  

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

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Bulletin to provide investors with information about a new rule from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) to help protect investors from financial exploitation and fraud.

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy (OIEA) and Retail Strategy Task Force are warning investors about Ponzi schemes that prey on senior investors.

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy (OIEA) is warning investors about investment schemes where fraudsters misrepresent that they work for the SEC and pretend to help investors purchase stock or confirm trades – but really just steal investors’ money. If you receive an email or phone call claiming to be from the SEC to “confirm” your purchase of a security or to help you trade a stock, it is likely a scam. Do not send them money or give them your account information.

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Bulletin to answer some common questions investors ask us about investment clubs.

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this alert to inform investors about the risks in using credit cards to purchase an investment or to fund an investment account.

The SEC’s Offices of Investor Education and Advocacy and Municipal Securities are issuing a series of three Investor Bulletins to help educate investors about the municipal securities market.  This Bulletin provides an overview of municipal bonds, including the different types of municipal bonds, what information an investor should review before investing in municipal bonds and where investors can find information about them.

The SEC’s Offices of Investor Education and Advocacy and Municipal Securities are issuing a series of three Investor Bulletins to help educate investors about the municipal securities market.  This Bulletin provides an overview of the municipal securities market, including the different types of municipal issuers, how the municipal securities market is regulated, and what types of disclosures investors may be able to obtain about municipal securities.

The SEC’s Offices of Investor Education and Advocacy and Municipal Securities are issuing a series of three Investor Bulletins to help educate investors about the municipal securities market.  This Bulletin provides a general overview on asset allocation and diversification in an investment portfolio, with a focus on the role of municipal bonds.

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Bulletin to educate investors about ABLE accounts.

With 2017 coming to a close, here are the SEC Office of Investor Education and Advocacy’s top 10 most popular Investor Alerts and Bulletins for the year.  These resources, all available on Investor.gov, can help you make more informed investment decisions – and avoid investment fraud – in 2018.  If you have questions, don’t hesitate to contact us at help@sec.gov, our online question form, or on our toll-free investor assistance line at (800) 732-0330.