Category Archives: investment fraud
“Free Lunch” Investment Seminars Not Always Only About Education
According to “Save and Invest”—a website and newsletter run by FINRA’s Investor Education Foundation—over 6 million Americans 55 and above have attended a “free lunch investment seminar.” But as FINRA also notes that these seminars are often less about education than they are about sales. “[A]ttendees are often pressured into making unsuitable—or even fraudulent—investments,”… Read More »
FINRA Urges Focus on “Concentration Risk”
No two investors are the same. They have different income goals, different risk tolerances, and different time horizons—among other differentiating factors. Indeed, one of the most common ways in which investors and brokers get into disputes with each other is through complaints of “unsuitability.” This is an argument by the investor that his or… Read More »
Precious Metals Futures Fraud
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) established the Precious Metals Fraud Advisory to alert customers to precious metals fraud and lists of recognized frauds and scams. The advisory also posts blogs and tips on simple ways to spot precious metals scams. The CFTC implemented several customer protections advisories to provide various warnings on popular… Read More »
FINRA Criticized for Being Lenient on Financial Brokers
On May 29, 2014, one of five Commissioners of the Securities and Exchange Commission gave a speech to FINRA’s Division of Market Regulation. While the SEC is the final government regulator of the country’s securities industry, FINRA—or the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority—is a key player in U.S. markets. FINRA is not itself a government… Read More »
Marijuana-Related Investment Fraud
The debate surrounding marijuana legalization in the United States continues to rage. While the federal government has not enacted any legislation to change the government’s prohibitionary stance on the drug, some states—most notably Colorado—have gone so far as to legalize the substance for recreational use. Some other states have at least decriminalized marijuana, or… Read More »