Investor Alerts and Bulletins

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Alert to warn investors that seemingly independent commentary on investment research websites may in fact be part of paid stock promotion campaigns.

Whether you are investing on your own, working with a financial professional, planning your retirement, or just interested in learning more about investing generally, here are ten ways you can use Investor.gov to become a more informed investor and avoid fraud.

The last few years have seen the growth in availability and popularity of automated digital investment advisory programs (often called “robo-advisers”).  These programs allow individual investors to create and manage their investment accounts through a web portal or mobile application, sometimes with little or no interaction with a human being with the potential benefit of lower costs than traditional investment advisory programs.  The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Bulletin to educate investors about these programs, and to help investors using

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Bulletin to inform you about features, and some potential risks, of alternative mutual funds.

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Bulletin to help educate investors about money market funds, including money market funds’ investment objectives and risks. For additional assistance, investors can call the SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy at 1-800-SEC-0330, or ask a question using this online form.

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy (OIEA) and Broker-Dealer Task Force are jointly issuing this Investor Alert to help investors identify excessive trading in their brokerage accounts and to educate investors about steps they should take if their brokerage firm notifies them of a high volume of trade activity in their accounts.

Whether you are a first-time investor or have been investing for years, here are 10 tips from the SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy to help you make better informed investment decisions and avoid common scams in 2017.

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.

Individual investors in the United States have access to a wide selection of investment opportunities. These opportunities include international investments and domestic investments that give investors international exposure, such as U.S.-registered mutual funds that invest in foreign assets and the other examples described below. The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Bulletin to help educate investors about certain aspects of international investing by describing ways individual investors may obtain information about international investments and…

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Alert to warn investors that fraudsters may conduct investment schemes through purported online binary options trading platforms.  While some binary options are listed on registered exchanges or traded on a designated contract market that are subject to oversight by U.S. regulators such as the SEC or the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, respectively, this is only a portion of the binary options market.  Much of the binary options market operates through Internet-based trading platforms that are not necessarily…

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Alert to warn investors about potential investment schemes in which fraudsters send fake Forms 4 to investors who paid for the purported purchase of shares.

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing a series of three Investor Bulletins to provide investors with important information to consider before investing in microcap stocks, often known as penny stocks. The Bulletins provide a general overview of microcap stocks and their marketplaces, a list of sources to research microcap stocks, and a list of “red flags” of fraud and other important factors to consider before making an investment in microcap stocks.

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing a series of three Investor Bulletins to provide investors with important information to consider before investing in microcap stocks often known as penny stocks.  The Bulletins provide a general overview of microcap stocks and their marketplaces, a list of sources to research microcap stocks, and a list of “red flags” of fraud and other important factors to consider before making an investment in microcap stocks.

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 Matthew, about investment fraud.

Beginning October 3, 2016, a new National Market System (NMS) Plan to implement a Tick Size Pilot Program (the “pilot”) will widen the minimum quoting and trading increment —sometimes called the “tick size” — for some small capitalization stocks.  The goal of the pilot is to study the effect of tick size on liquidity and trading of small capitalization stocks. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Office of Investor Education and Advocacy (OIEA) are issuing this investor alert to explain the pilot and how it might affect…

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing a series of three Investor Bulletins to provide investors with important information to consider before investing in microcap stocks, often known as penny stocks. The Bulletins provide a general overview of microcap stocks and their marketplaces, a list of sources to research microcap stocks, and a list of “red flags” of fraud and other important factors to consider before making an investment in microcap stocks.

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Alert to help educate investors about advance fee fraud.

*/ /*-->*/ The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this bulletin to educate investors about investing in publicly traded REITs.      What are REITs?

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…

The SEC's Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this updated Investor Alert to help educate investors, including individuals who may receive lump sum payments from insurance companies and others following the recent historic rainfall and flooding in and around Louisiana, about investment fraud.

Third party asset recovery companies solicit victims of scams, including investment frauds, with promises to file complaints with regulatory agencies and to help recover victims’ money for a fee. The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Alert to urge investors and fraud victims to think carefully before paying money for asset recovery services that may be fruitless.

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Bulletin to provide investors information about mutual fund classes.  This bulletin addresses some of the fees that may apply to certain common mutual fund classes, but please note that mutual funds may have other fees and expenses that you should take into account when making an investment decision.  For more information on mutual fund fees and expenses, read our Investor Bulletin: Mutual Fund Fees and Expenses.

Older Americans are often targets of investment fraud.  The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Updated Investor Alert to help seniors identify signs that what is offered as an investment may actually be a fraud.  Below are five “red flags” seniors should look out for when making an investment decision. Unregistered and Unlicensed Sellers.  Always check whether the person offering to sell you an investment is registered and licensed, even if you know him or her personally.  Unregistered and unlicensed pe

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Bulletin to educate investors about some of the pros and cons of variable annuity buyout offers.  This bulletin will provide information to help you consider whether a buyout is right for you.

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy (OIEA) is issuing this Investor Alert because we are aware of communications, including official looking documents, that falsely claim to be issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission and seek money from investors who have already been victims of fraud.