Investor Alert

Brokerage Firm Private Securities Offerings: Buying Your Brokerage

To raise capital, brokerage firms sometimes sell their own or an affiliate's securities. Such broker-dealer self-offerings (BDOs) can take the form of registered public offerings or private placements. NASD's new Investor Alert addresses issues raised by a broker's private placement of its own or its affiliate's securities (private BDOs), particularly to firm customers.

While private BDOs can be legitimate investments, recent NASD and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) enforcement actions highlight the potential for abuse in private BDOs.

Read our Investor Alert to understand what private BDOs are, the risks involved with them, and how to identify the telltale signs of fraud or other misconduct.

Investor Alert

"Stretch" IRAs—Too Much of Stretch for You?

Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) have been extremely popular as retirement vehicles for the past generation of investors. The tax deferred savings for retirement has been described as the best tax break available to middle class Americans. In response to recent IRS rule changes, a new variation on the traditional IRA—"stretch" IRAs—offers potentially huge payoffs that will be difficult for most investors to get.

Read our Investor Alert to learn if a stretch IRA is right for you.

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News Dispatch

NASD Charges Investprivate, Inc. and Its Chairman with Fraudulently Raising Millions

NASD announced that it has charged Investprivate, Inc. of New York, NY and its Chairman and CEO, Scott L. Mathis, with securities fraud and other violations in connection with two securities offerings. Investprivate raised money for itself, its parent, Diversified Biotech Holdings Corporation, and an affiliate, Investbio, Inc. These broker-dealer self-offerings raised a total of approximately $17.6 million between June of 2000 and February of 2003.

Read the News Release.

Tools You Can Use

401(k) and IRA Minimum Required Distribution Calculator

The law requires that you begin to withdraw money from your traditional IRA, 401(k) or other employer sponsored retirement plan by April 1 of the year you turn 70 ½. While you can always withdraw more, the amount you must withdraw each year is called a minimum required distribution (MRD). If you take less than the required minimum, you owe a 50% penalty on the amount you should have withdrawn.

Use our MRD calculator to find out what your required withdrawal will be and the rate of return you'll need to earn to maintain your account balance.

Past Issues of Investor News Available

In response to numerous requests, previous issues of Investor News are now available on our Web site.

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