Investor Alert
Customer Advisory Centers: Not Your Typical Securities Firm Call Center
This Investor Alert focuses on a relatively new type of call center—the 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 new, sales-orientated centers are becoming more prevalent, and you may not be familiar with how they work. Before you deal with this new type of call center, be sure you understand its operations.
Learn about:
- Customer advisory center operations
- Potential problems NASD found at one of these centers
- What constitutes suitable and unsuitable mutual fund switching
- Tips for a successful customer advisory center experience
Read the Alert
News Dispatch
NASD Fines Merrill Lynch $5 Million for Call Center Supervisory Failures, Sales Contest Violations
NASD announced that it has fined Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc. $5 million for supervisory failures, registration violations, impermissible sales contests and other violations in connection with the operation of its Financial Advisory Center (FAC) located in Hopewell, NJ and Jacksonville, FL. The firm also was prohibited from staging any sales contests for FAC personnel for three years.
Read the News Release
Consumer Corner
Avoid Tax Refund Scams
The Internal Revenue Service has issued a consumer alert about an Internet scam in which consumers receive an email informing them of a tax refund. The email, which claims to be from the IRS, directs the consumer to a link that requests personal information, such as Social Security number and credit card information. Once this information is obtained, the fraudsters use it to steal the taxpayer's identity and financial assets.
Read the IRS Warning
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Events
Honolulu Financial Education Forum at the Hawai'i Convention Center
Attend a free financial education forum for military servicemembers and families, presented by the NASD Investor Education Foundation in partnership with your Military Family Support Center. Save the date—Wednesday, April 12, 2006.
Register Now!
Upcoming Events:
- Okinawa, Japan April 18, 2006
- Yokosuka, Japan April 20-21, 2006
Details on these events will be announced in the next SaveAndInvest News.
Financial education forums are part of a comprehensive new campaign to deliver financial education tools and training to members of the military and their spouses.
Manage Your Money With Confidence
Money management is a life skill. Whether you are buying your first car, saving for a downpayment on a home, or putting money away for retirement, the goal is to make good decisions and steer clear of problems and financial moves that do more harm than good.
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