The SEC's Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Bulletin to educate investors about variable annuities and how they work.

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Bulletin to educate investors about exchange-traded notes (“ETNs”).  ETNs are unsecured debt obligations of financial institutions that trade on a securities exchange.  ETN payment terms are linked to the performance of a reference index or benchmark, representing the ETN’s investment objective.  You should understand that ETNs are complex and involve many risks for interested investors, and can result in the loss of your entire investment.

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 things to consider.

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Office of Investor Education and Assistance, the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA), and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) are issuing this Investor Bulletin to help investors better understand the designations financial professionals use.

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing a series of three Investor Bulletins to help inform investors about key information in a prospectus. You should note, however, that a prospectus contains additional information that may assist investors in making an investment decision.

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing a series of three Investor Bulletins to help inform investors about key information in a prospectus. You should note, however, that a prospectus contains additional information that may assist investors in making an investment decision.

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing a series of three Investor Bulletins to help inform investors about key information in a prospectus. You should note, however, that a prospectus contains additional information that may assist investors in making an investment decision.

Investment advisers provide a wide range of advisory services and play an important role in helping individuals and institutions make significant financial decisions. To allow clients and prospective clients to evaluate the risks associated with a particular investment adviser, its business practices, and its investment strategies, it is essential that clients and prospective clients have clear disclosure that they are likely to read and understand.  Part 2 of Form ADV requires investment advisers to provide new and prospective clients with a brochure and brochure supplements written in plain English. The requirements of Part 2 are designed to provide new and prospective clients with clearly written, meaningful current disclosure of the business practices, conflicts of interest, and background of the investment adviser firm and the firm’s employees who provide advice.

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this investor bulletin to explain how to check out an investment professional’s registration status and background.

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Bulletin to provide investors with a short overview of the SEC’s IAPD database.  The IAPD database can be accessed through the Check Out Your Investment Professional search tool on Investor.gov. For information about checking out the background of financial professionals more generally, please see our Investor Bulletin, How to Select an Investment Professional.