Recent Investor Newsletters

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FINRA Foundation Study Finds Most Women Pay More When Using Credit Cards
FINRA News:
- Goldman, Sachs & Co. Fined $22 Million for Supervisory Failures Relating to Trading and Equity Research
- FINRA Hearing Panel Fines David Lerner Associates $2.3 Million for Selling Municipal Bonds, CMOs to Retail Customers at Unfair Prices, and for Supervisory Violations

Investor Alert: Well-Traveled Fraud—Advance-Fee Scams Target Non-U.S. Investors Using Fake Regulator Websites and Broker Identities
Investor Alert: "Phishing" and Other Online Identity Theft Scams—Don’t Take the Bait
Are You at Risk for Fraud? Find Out With Our Risk Meter
FINRA Investor Education Foundation and United Way Worldwide Announce Over $1.3 Million in Grants for Grassroots Financial Education Projects
FINRA News:
- FINRA Fines Citi International Financial $600,000 and Orders Restitution of $648,000 for Excessive Markups and Markdowns
- FINRA Foundation Military Spouse Fellowship Application Period Open From March 1-31
- FINRA Issues New Investor Alert to Help Investors Understand Their Brokerage Account Statements

Investor Alert: It Pays to Understand Your Brokerage Account Statements and Trade Confirmations
Smart Investing: FINRA Foundation and NFL Team Up to Help Players Avoid Investment Fraud, Make Smart Financial Decisions
FINRA News:
- FINRA Charges Charles Schwab & Co With Violating FINRA Rules by Using Class Action Waiver in Customer Agreements
- FINRA Warns Investors of Email Hack Attacks

Investor Alert: Email Hack Attack? Be Sure to Notify Brokerage Firms and Other Financial Institutions
Smart Investing: FINRA Foundation and American Library Association Announce $1.2 Million in Grants to Libraries to Support Financial Literacy
FINRA News:
- FINRA Fines Merrill Lynch $1 Million for Failure to Arbitrate Disputes With Employees
- FINRA Fines Citigroup Global Markets $725,000 for Failure to Disclose Conflicts of Interest in Research Reports
- FINRA Fines Credit Suisse Securities $1.75 Million for Regulation SHO Violations and Supervisory Failures

Investor Alert: Weathering Tough Economic Times—12 Tips for 2012
Fight Fraud: FINRA Foundation Launches "New" SaveAndInvest.org Website
Restitution for Harmed Investors: Chase Investment Services Corporation—UITs and Floating-Rate Loan Funds
FINRA News:
- FINRA Foundation and USA Track & Field Foundation Team Up to Help Athletes Sidestep Investment Fraud
- FINRA Sanctions Eight Firms and 10 Individuals for Selling Interests in Troubled Private Placements, Including Medical Capital, Provident Royalties and DBSI, Without Conducting a Reasonable Investigation
- FINRA Fines Wells Investment Securities $300,000 for Use of Misleading Marketing Materials for REIT Offering
- FINRA Fines Morgan Stanley $1 Million and Orders Restitution of $371,000 for Excessive Markups and Markdowns

Investor Alert: Why Leave Money on the Table? Make the Most of Your Employer's 401(k) Match
Podcast: Structured Notes With Principal Protection: Understand the Risks of Your Investment
FINRA News:
- Remarks by Chairman and CEO Rick Ketchum at the Research Center on the Prevention of Financial Fraud 2011 Conference
- FINRA Fines UBS Securities $12 Million for Regulation SHO Violations and Supervisory Failures
- FINRA Investor Alert Urges American Workers to Take Advantage of 401(k) Match
- FINRA Launches New Securitized Product Tables

Investor Alert: Companies in Bankruptcy Rarely Make Blockbuster Investments
Investor Alert: Public Non-Traded REITs—Perform a Careful Review Before Investing
FINRA News:
- FINRA Foundation Supports First Lady's "Joining Forces" Initiative with Expanded Education Offerings for Military Families
- FINRA Fines Merrill Lynch $1 Million for Supervisory Failures That Allowed a Registered Representative to Operate a Ponzi Scheme
- FINRA Names Gerri Walsh President of the FINRA Foundation, Head of Investor Education
- FINRA Orders Raymond James & Associates, Inc. and Raymond James Financial Services, Inc. to Pay $1.69 Million in Restitution for Charging Unfair Commissions

Investor Alert: "Gold" Stocks—Some Investments Mine Your Pocketbook
Podcast: Stock-Based Loan Programs: What Investors Need to Know
FINRA News:
- FINRA Fines Five Broker Dealers for Improper Handling Fees
- FINRA Suspends and Fines Trader; Orders Restitution for Manipulative Trading that Artificially Impacted the Market Through a Concealed Account
- Stanford University and the FINRA Foundation Launch Fraud Prevention Research Center

Stanford University and the FINRA Investor Education Foundation Launch Fraud Prevention Research Center
Investor Alert: The Grass Isn't Always Greener—Chasing Return in a Challenging Investment Environment
FINRA News:
- FINRA Fines SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, SunTrust Investment Services a Total of $5 Million for Auction Rate Securities Violations
- FINRA Suspends William Bailey, Former NEXT Financial Broker, for Two Years for Improper Trading in Customer Accounts and Other Violations

Use FINRA BrokerCheck^® to Review Your Broker’s Record
Podcast: Moving Your 401(k)
FINRA News:
- Morgan Keegan Ordered to Pay $200 Million to Investors to Settle Allegations Regarding Sales of Bond Funds

Investor Alert: Structured Notes With Principal Protection: Note the Terms of Your Investment
Investor Alert: Stock-Based Loan Programs: What Investors Need to Know
Podcast: Investment Scams Follow in the Wake of the Crisis in Japan
FINRA News:
- FINRA Fines Northern Trust Securities, Inc. $600,000 for Inadequate Supervision of Sales of Collateralized Mortgage Obligations and Certain High-Volume Securities Trades
- FINRA Charges David Lerner & Associates With Soliciting Investors to Purchase REITs Without Fully Investigating Suitability; Lerner Marketed REITs on its Website With Misleading Returns
- FINRA Fines Credit Suisse Securities $4.5 Million and Merrill Lynch $3 Million for Misrepresentations Related to Subprime Securitizations
- FINRA Fines Nuveen $3 Million for Use of Misleading Marketing Materials Concerning Auction Rate Securities
- FINRA Launches New Disciplinary Actions Database

Investor Alert: Investment Scams Follow in the Wake of the Crisis in Japan
Podcast: Five Ways to Get Control of Your Finances
Podcast: Pre-IPO Offerings—These Scammers Are Not Your Friends
FINRA News:
- FINRA Fines Wells Fargo Advisors $1 Million for Delays in Delivering Prospectuses to More Than 900,000 Customers
- FINRA Bars Illinois Broker for Insider Trading
- FINRA Suspends Pinnacle Partners and its President Brian Alfaro
- FINRA Fines Jefferies $1.5 Million for Failing to Disclose Additional Compensation Paid and Conflicts in Sale of Auction Rate Securities

Investor Alert: Take Control of Your Financial Future: Tips to Think About at Tax Time and Beyond
April Is Financial Literacy Month: Test Your Investing Knowledge
Podcast: How to Transfer Your Brokerage Account
FINRA News
- FINRA Fines Santander Securities $2 Million for Deficiencies in Its Structured Product Business and Unsuitable Reverse Convertible Sales
- FINRA Fines UBS Financial Services $2.5 Million; Orders UBS to Pay Restitution of $8.25 Million for Omissions That Effectively Misled Investors in Sales of Lehman-Issued 100% Principal-Protection Notes
- FINRA Sanctions Two Firms and Seven Individuals for Selling Private Placements Without Conducting a Reasonable Investigation
- FINRA Hearing Panel Expels AIS Financial, Inc. for Systemic Anti-Money Laundering Violations