Investor Alerts

FINRA cautions investors who are considering binary options to be alert to potentially fraudulent schemes, and particularly wary of non-U.S. companies that offer binary options trading platforms.

October 1-7, 2019 is World Investor Week, a global campaign to raise awareness about the importance of investor education and protection. U.S. securities regulators offer these key messages for Main Street investors.

Financial fraud routinely follows on the heels of disaster. Hurricanes and their aftermath are no exception. We are issuing this Alert to warn investors that investment scams may come your way touting stocks and other investments with the promise of huge gains in the wake of major hurricanes.

FINRA updated and is reissuing our 529 saving savings plan investor alert to highlight Jobs Act changes, and to remind investors to closely consider both their state of residency and the applicable fees—including fees associated with share classes—when making 529 investment decisions.

As an investor, you may have read about "Class A," "Class B," Class C", or other classes of mutual fund shares. If you are thinking about choosing one of these classes, it is important for you to understand the differences between them. FINRA regulates broker/dealers and their registered representatives, and we provide investors with information about securities products and services.

FINRA and the SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy are issuing this Investor Alert to inform investors about social sentiment investing tools and highlight their risks. This Alert provides tips to consider before using tools that analyze or aggregate information from social media sources to make investment decisions or attempt to predict changes in the stock market’s direction or in the price of a security.

FINRA is aware of a recent scheme that involved an unregistered individual impersonating a registered investment professional to lure in potential investors. This scammer created a fake version of a public FINRA BrokerCheck® report of a legitimate broker—picking an experienced broker with a spotless regulatory record.

Fake checks purported to be issued by FINRA appear to be back in circulation in 2019. The checks are counterfeit. Our updated Alert warns the public about job-search scams in which people who respond to ads or online job postings receive checks that appear to be from legitimate companies—including FINRA.

We are reissuing this alert because, as interest rates have increased in recent months, so have calls to FINRA from investors concerned that promotions for higher-than-average CD rates are in fact pitches for high-commission investment products.

FINRA is issuing this alert to inform investors that investments in digital assets, such as ICO tokens and cryptocurrencies, can involve significant uncertainty, as well as risks that are different from more conventional assets like stocks or bonds.

Fraudsters continue to impersonate FINRA executives, offering bogus investment "guarantees" to investors as part of an advance-fee scam. Read more about the lengths these fraudsters go to in creating a false sense of security.

FINRA is re-issuing this alert to remind investors about the key elements of their brokerage account statements and trade confirmations and to provide tips that can help avoid problems.

You may not be able to control if or when your company closes a plant or lays off workers—but you can take steps to manage the financial impact of those events. We have updated this Alert with the latest annual IRS contribution limits for retirement plans.

FINRA is issuing this Alert to warn investors that scammers are posing as regulators to separate you from your money. We want you to know that neither FINRA, nor any of its executives, will ever provide a "guarantee" on an investment or offer to facilitate your participation in any sort of money-making scheme.

FINRA is re-issuing this alert because we are concerned that many investors may underestimate the risks of trading on margin and misunderstand the operation of, and reason for, margin calls.

In today’s “hot” cryptocurrency environment, it’s easy for companies or their promoters to make glorified claims about new products, services and other cryptocurrency-related connections. And, even when legitimate companies flock to a hot, new sector, fraudsters almost always follow suit, exploiting the news to launch their latest frauds du jour. Follow these tips to avoid costly mistakes.

Drawing on the findings of the FINRA Investor Education Foundation's National Financial Capability Study of more than 25,000 American adults, the FINRA Foundation has developed five tips to help consumers both manage their day-to-day financial challenges and build a brighter financial future.

Financial fraud routinely follows on the heels of disaster. Hurricane Harvey and the historic flooding it left it its wake is no exception. We are issuing this Alert to warn investors that investment scams may come your way touting stocks and other investments with the promise of huge gains in the wake of Harvey. This Investor Alert explains how to spot and protect yourself from potential investment scams.

FINRA has issued a new alert to inform investors about the potential risks of participating in Initial Coin Offerings, or ICOs. Investors should be aware that ICOs differ significantly from initial public offerings (IPOs). Unlike stocks, ICOs typically confer no ownership rights in the company; and unlike bonds, ICOs do not involve investors lending money to the issuer. Instead, ICOs involve new technologies and products that are highly technical and complex, and investors can lose some or all of the money they invest in an ICO.

Some companies and recruiters use online video call technologies such as Skype as a convenient and cost-effective way to interview job applicants. Unfortunately, fraudsters are using them too, and they aren't looking to offer you a job. FINRA is issuing this Alert to warn the public that individuals claiming to be involved in the hiring process for legitimate organizations have turned to online video call platforms as a way to phish for your personal information and money.

"Crowdfunding" generally refers to the use of the Internet by small businesses to raise capital through limited investments from a large number of investors. Under SEC rules, the general public can invest in capital raising by start-up companies. This advisory is designed to help the public understand the crowdfunding rules and processes so they can make informed decisions about the risks and rewards of investing in these early-stage businesses.

FINRA is issuing this alert to warn anyone involved in binary options trading—specifically through unregistered non-U.S. companies offering binary options trading platforms or services—to be on guard for potential follow-up frauds.

If you own bonds or have money in a bond fund, there is a number you should know. It is called duration. Although stated in years, duration is not simply a measure of time. Instead, duration signals how much the price of your bond investment is likely to fluctuate when there is an up or down movement in interest rates. The higher the duration number, the more sensitive your bond investment will be to changes in interest rates.

This Investor Alert focuses on a type of call center called a customer advisory center. It is a center that is staffed by securities professionals who may provide financial planning services, sell securities products, and receive commissions or other financial incentives for doing so. These centers have become common and, in some instances, can be sales-orientated.