Investor Alerts

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

"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.

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.

FINRA is issuing this alert to inform brokerage account holders, family members and other beneficiaries about inherited IRAs. We also provide tips for making the IRA inheritance process as efficient and trouble-free as possible.

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.