Retaining a financial professional to guide you on investments is an important decision. Sometimes, the relationship falls short and an investor becomes concerned that an adviser has failed to honor industry standards. Here are three things to know if you run into...
The SEC recently got an emergency order to shut down a company called Integrated Natural Resources, Inc., which was doing business as WeedGenics. The agency is charging its owners with securities fraud after it discovered that the business was a complete sham....
When a potential investment promises a very high yield with little risk, you have to wonder. If it’s so great, why isn’t everyone investing in it? Why is it being made available to me? That’s because investment programs that offer returns of 30% or more without much...
If you think you were taken in by securities fraud, you’re probably right. Unfortunately, it happens a lot. It happens to smart people. It happens to people who are sophisticated and well-educated. It happens to a really wide range of people young and old, wealthy and...
Yes. Specifically, if your advisor was licensed through the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), you can file an arbitration claim to get some or all of your money back. Whether your claim will succeed depends on exactly what happened. All investments...
It doesn’t matter that you’re a savvy investor. It doesn’t matter if you’re educated, if you’re smart or if you’re self-reliant. In fact, if you’re nearing or at retirement age with substantial assets, you may be just who securities fraudsters and pyramid schemers are...
Unfortunately, identity theft is rampant. We can all take steps to limit the exposure of our personal information, but we may be targeted anyway. If your identity is stolen, the thieves will do everything they can to get into all of your financial accounts. That...
You should never make investment decisions based on social media information. It may be tempting to think you have unusual insight and that you are putting pieces together in a way that others are not. Unfortunately, it’s more likely that you’re being scammed. As...
As we consider various investments, we often wish we had an edge over other investors. We would never engage in insider trading, but it would surely be good to get in on the first floor. Savvy investors rely on a great deal of information when choosing stocks....
It’s hard to know who to trust these days. A Harvard MBA and military vet with experience managing a $1.15-billion hedge fund sounds like a good bet, right? Except that, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission, he just made up those credentials to gain...
